


Of Rainy Cities and Unexpected Feelings

by Ximena13



Category: Football RPF
Genre: AU- no kids, AU- no wifes, Angst, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, FC Barcelona, Fluff and Angst, It was supposed to be only fluff I´M SORRY, Lots of Rain to Make the Title Justice lmao, M/M, Manchester City, My first fanfic so please be nice, Otamendi is being a meanie but I swear he´s nice, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Solving their problems via playing FIFA, kunessi - Freeform, talks about feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-04-21 01:17:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14273799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ximena13/pseuds/Ximena13
Summary: It was all Geri's fault.That was Leo's first thought when he found himself alone at Manchester City's parking lot, blinking dumbly at the place where the bus used to be. Where the bus that was supposed to take him and the team to the airport, and then back to Spain, used to be.Or,The one in which Leo gets left behind by the team bus, has to figure out a way to go back to Spain without the media noticing, and has to deal with the fact that he may be in love with his best friend.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> This is my first story, so please be patient and kind, I´ve wanted to post a story for a long time, but never felt confident enough to do it until now, so here we are!
> 
> Kunessi has captured my heart, it´s such a cute, fluffy fandom, and i wanted to contribute to it, hopefully you guys like it!
> 
> Keep in mind that english is not my native language, so please feel free to point out any mistakes.(Also, yes, the title sucks and the summary does too, but hey, I´m trying).
> 
> Feedback is appreciated! I´m trying to gain some confidence, and depending on the response i get from this first chapter I´ll decide if i should continue posting this or not, any words of encouragement help! 
> 
> And finally, enjoy!

It was all Geri's fault.  
 

That was Leo's first thought when he found himself alone at Manchester City's parking lot, blinking dumbly at the place where the bus used to be. Where the bus that was supposed to take him and the team to the airport, and then back to Spain, used to be.

  
Leo blinked again, and started looking around, maybe it was a prank? The bus wouldn´t really leave without him, right? He didn´t think he was _that_ important, but he´d like to think at least _someone_ would have noticed his absence. Or he at least expected Geri to notice, since he had been the one who had asked Leo to go check the locker room for his wallet (which he hadn´t found).

He waited for a few minutes, wishing Geri would just pop up and tell him it was all a joke, and when nothing happened, Leo started panicking. He went to pull out his phone, when he remembered he had given it to Luis to make a call, and then had forgotten to ask for it, because of course he had.

The Barcelona player let out a weary sigh, before deciding to walk back inside the stadium, the last thing he needed was for the media to catch on to what was happening and create a fuss, or for the fans to get ahold of him. He went in the direction of the pitch, because it was the only place he knew the way to, other than the locker room.

He wasn´t expecting to find someone else on the pitch, and it didn´t take him too long to recognize the other player as Leroy Sané, one of Manchester City star players. Leo stayed in the tunnel, watching as the younger man kicked ball after ball into the goal, every ball hitting the net with impressive accuracy, and yet Leroy didn´t appear to be satisfied, a frown on his face as he went to collect the balls and place them in front of the goal again, this time missing a couple shots and growing more frustrated.

Leo wasn´t surprised, he got the same way when he felt he hadn´t had a good game, and he recognized Leroy´s actions for what they were, a way to get rid of the anger he had. Anger that was most likely directed at himself. The Argentinian frowned, the guy was probably exhausted after the game, and if he kept practicing like that he could easily get injured.

Hesitating a little, Leo walked into the pitch, just as the 22-year-old kicked another ball, sending it crashing into the left post and right into Leo´s waiting arms. The Manchester City player froze, staring at Leo open-mouthed, and Leo smiled at him, trying not to seem too awkward.

“You shouldn´t be doing that.” Leo winced at the unintentional harshness of his own words, he cleared his throat and tried again, pronouncing the words slowly so the kid could understand him in his broken english, “I mean, you should rest, if you strain yourself you could get injured.”

The other player just stared at him, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times in shock.

Leo smiled at him, a real smile this time, something about Leroy Sané reminded Leo of Neymar, back when the Brazilian had been new to Barcelona and all he would do was gape at Leo instead of talking to him.

Feeling much more at ease, Leo got closer to Leroy and handed him the ball.

“You had a good game today, you just missed a shot, it happens to everyone, trust me.”

Leroy just stared at him some more -- for so long that Leo started to wonder if his english was really _that_ bad--  before finally smiling shyly, his cheeks turning pink.

“Thank you. It means a lot.” They stood there, smiling at each other, until Leroy frowned again, staring at Leo in confusion. “Wasn´t your bus leaving immediately after the game? Kun was complaining about not being able to catch up, or something.”

Now it was Leo´s turn to blush, grinning sheepishly at the City player.

“Yeah, we were supposed to leave immediately after, but the bus kind of... uh... left? Without me?”

Leroy stared at him again, probably trying to determine if it was a joke, and when Leo stared back at him, the player´s eyes widened.

“They... left? Are you going back alone?”

Leo shrugged at him, biting his bottom lip in discomfort.

“I would, but I don’t have my wallet, or my phone, or anything really, all my things are in the bus.”

The German frowned, looking in the direction of the tunnel with a thoughtful look.

“I could… get Kun?”

The suggestion took Leo by surprise, and he mentally face-palmed, how could he have forgotten Kun? A wave of relief hit him then, his friend would help him no matter what, and he would be discreet if Leo asked him to.

Leroy must have seen the relief in Leo´s face, because he started directing Leo towards the locker room, pausing in the way to look around and make sure no one would see them, or rather no one would see Leo, probably understanding the mess they would have to deal with if word got out that Lionel Messi was roaming Etihad stadium with a Manchester City player. The Argentinian smiled at the kid in thanks, feeling incredibly grateful for his help.

When they were about to enter the room, Leroy turned to him, a troubled expression on his face.

“Everyone´s in here, they´ll see you. If you want I can bring Kun here?”

Leo stopped to think; Kun had never said anything but good things about his teammates, just like Zaba and Ota, plus they all seemed at ease with them, so Leo could probably trust them. He finally shook his head, signaling his companion to go ahead.

As soon as they both entered, all eyes were on Leo, who once again tried not to show his discomfort at all the attention, and he followed Leroy through the locker room, avoiding eye contact as much as he could, but keeping his head up. The room was silent, not a sound could be heard but that of his and Leroy´s footsteps, and Leo sighed in relief when he finally heard Kun´s voice, singing along to a Maluma song under his breath.

His friend´s voice cut off mid-song once he noticed Leo standing in front of him, and a wide grin appeared instead, immediately making Leo relax.

“Leo! What are you doing here? You said you were leaving after the game.” The last bit sounded like an accusation, and Leo could only sigh in exasperation, both at the accusation and at the question, feeling too embarrassed to explain his presence when there were so many people listening.

Leroy, however, felt no such thing, and he immediately started explaining everything to Kun, much to the culé´s horror.

“The bus left without him! And he doesn´t have anything because he left his bag in the bus, and if the press finds out he could get in trouble, or his team could get in trouble, or _our_ team could, and i found him in the pitch, or well, he found me, and we didn´t know what to do, and—“ Kun was looking at Leroy like he´d gone crazy, actually, the whole team was staring at him in the same way, and Leo felt bad enough for the kid to place a hand on his shoulder, effectively making him shut up.

Kun appeared to be speechless, a rare occurrence, but today had been full of rare occurrences, so Leo wasn´t too surprised. He was surprised, however, when his friend bursted into peals of laughter, having to hold onto the bench to not fall over. Leo stared at him, unimpressed, and kicked him in the shin when the laughter didn´t stop. Kun heaved a few breaths, and when he looked up at Leo, he had tears in his eyes, which just made Leo kick him harder.

“Are you done?” The Barcelona player couldn’t keep the irritation out of his voice, he was anxious and embarrassed, and his friend laughing at his situation wasn´t helping.

“I´m sorry, I just… wow, that´s… You gotta admit it´s kind of funny,” His friend looked the opposite of sorry, but he was smiling at Leo with that familiar dorky smile that always made Leo´s heart beat faster, and as much as he tried to keep frowning at his friend, he could feel the corners of his mouth twisting up.

Just then, Pep Guardiola -- as in Manchester City´s coach, and FC Barcelona´s former coach--, entered the locker room, frowning at the players in confusion when no one acknowledged him, and following everyone´s gazes until he spotted Leo, who could only give him a sheepish grin.

Immediately, Pep turned to Kun and gave him a disapproving glare, “What did you do?”

Kun gaped at him, giving him the most offended look Leo had ever seen, but didn’t have a chance to defend himself, as Pep kept talking.

“Actually, it doesn´t matter. What happened?”

Leroy, who had been quiet since his outburst, started explaining once more, this time a little more composed, “I found Leo on the pitch, and he says his bus left without him, and he didn´t have a way to contact them, so I—“

“Wait, the bus _left_? _Without you?”_ For the first time in the conversation, the coach addressed him, and Leo straightened up unconsciously, nodding.

“If we get you to the airport now, is there a chance you can still catch the flight?”

Leo shook his head with a grimace, he knew the flight was scheduled to take off as soon as the team arrived at the airport, and he also knew it was unlikely his teammates would notice his absence at the airport, not when everyone was exhausted after the game, and certainly not with the screaming fans and press. He mentally cursed at Geri for getting him in this mess in the first place.

Pep cursed, bringing a hand up to rub his forehead, but quickly looked at Leo again, speaking with urgency, “Who knows you´re still here?”

The question took Leo by surprise, but he answered quickly, “Only the people in this room,”

The coach let out a sigh of relief, and looked around at his players, “No one says a word about this, am I clear?” He used his _“coach voice”_ , as Geri used to call it, and all the players simultaneously nodded.

“All right, come with me.” Leo´s former coach ordered, turning around and walking out of the room. After slight hesitation, Leo followed him, giving Kun and Leroy a look.

As soon as he exited the room, Pep´s whole demeanor changed, he smiled at Leo, fondness shining in his eyes, and Leo smiled back, accepting the hug from his former mentor. It had been a while since they had seen each other, and even longer since they´d had the opportunity to talk.

“Sorry about that back there, I had to make it seem like it was very serious, otherwise they would probably start asking for pictures or something,” The older man rolled his eyes, but his voice was fond, “I´ll contact your team personally, and try to work something out, alright? Don´t worry too much.”

Leo sighed in relief, apparently the other man still had the ability to calm him down with a few words.

“Thank you, Pep, really.”

The man smiled at him, and put his arm around Leo´s shoulders, just like he used to do.

“At least we get to catch up, huh?”

Just as Leo was about to answer, there was the sound of a door slamming open, and Kun appeared at the end of the hall, rushing to meet them.

“Sorry, I was getting dressed. So, what´s the plan?”

Pep sighed in exasperation, and Leo merely smiled at his friend, he had a feeling it was all going to be okay after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeey! So, I was super nervous about posting this story, but the response to the first chapter was so heartwarming, I swear I couldn´t stop smiling the entire week (it was the best birthday present EVER).
> 
> THANK YOU SO MUCH!!  
> Every comment, every kudo, it means the world to me, THANK YOU!
> 
> So, here´s the next chapter, a little shorter than the last one, but I´ll make it up to you on the next one lmao.  
> Thanks for reading!

Everything, as it turned out, was not okay.

They couldn't get in contact with the team –they were most likely on the plane already –, and when they tried to book a flight received news that there were no flights available due to bad weather.

Then, they were told the next flights to Spain were booked, so they would have to at least wait a week, minimum, and that was only if the weather got better, but as Kun had said; Manchester's weather was always like that. And so basically there was nothing they could do but wait, at least until the next day, to try to call again or wait until Leo's team contacted them.

Honestly, Leo was getting a little offended, he knew he kept to himself sometimes, and that he usually slept the whole time they were in the bus, and sometimes even in the plane, but he would've liked to think _someone_ would have noticed his absence by now.

In the end, Pep sent them back to the locker room, where the players were still milling around in confusion, and upon seeing Leo they went quiet again. Kun rolled his eyes at them, and dragged Leo by the arm through the room and pushed him to sit in the bench next to his locker.

Leo took his time to look around, since he hadn't had the chance last time; most of the players were staring at him, making him squirm a little, except for Leroy, who was tying his shoes and looking down, he was the only one not staring at Leo, but he looked up when he felt Leo's eyes on him.

He brightened, beaming at Leo and almost tripping with his untied shoelace in his rush to get to him, and Leo smiled.

“I didn't think I'd get the chance to see you again.” Leroy sounded genuinely relieved, and Leo had to refrain himself from ruffling his hair.

“Turns out I'm staying here for possibly a week or more, so don't worry about that." Despite the situation, Leo was calm. Now that he had Kun and Pep – and maybe Leroy— he felt more optimistic about the outcome.

“What?! A week?!” Leroy's voice attracted everyone's attention, but Leo forced himself to not react to it, instead he nodded, trying to appear as unaffected as possible. His new friend noticed this, and lowered his voice with a sheepish grin, “Where are you staying then, a hotel?”

“Nope,” Kun interrupted, slamming his locker door shut and plopping down next to Leo, draping an arm around his shoulders, “He's staying with me, obviously.”

Leo turned to his friend, an eyebrow raised. They had agreed with Pep that Leo would be staying at a nearby hotel, so as to not attract attention, staying at Kun's would mean taking an unnecessary risk, Leo knew that, and yet, as Kun started pouting at him, flashing him his famous puppy eyes, he could already feel his resolve crumbling.

Leo sighed, Pep was going to _kill_ him.

“Yeah, I'm staying with him.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Later that day, Leo admitted to himself that perhaps staying with Kun wasn't as much of a bad idea as he had first thought. His friend's house was familiar, from all the times he had visited on holidays, and Leo was comfortable there, especially with Kun being so accommodating and his usual self.

His friend was delighted at having Leo in his house, and had insisted on ordering the most expensive dinner he could think of, dutifully ignoring Leo's protest and instead coaxing him into watching a movie. By the time dinner arrived, Leo was dozing off in the couch, his head in Kun´s lap and his friend´s fingers playing with his hair.

They ate in the couch, both too lazy to move from their comfortable positions, and not too long after, they drifted off to sleep in the same position. The last thing Leo was aware of was the feeling of lips being pressed softly on his forehead, and the familiar warmth in his chest.

 

* * *

 

 

 

The next thing he was aware of, was a loud, constant, shrilling noise. He woke up immediately, recognizing the noise as a phone, and scrambled from the couch, reaching the phone just in time to accept the call.

“Hel—“

“Leo?! Oh my god, Leo! Where the hell are you?!” The voice was familiar, but in his sleepy state, it took Leo a couple of seconds to recognize it. When he did, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Geri?!”

“Yes! Where are you?! I didn't see you at the airport, and everyone started to worry so I had to make up some bullshit story about you having to leave from the airport, and you´re lucky everyone believed me, because—“

“Leaving from the airport? What, Geri— Wait… What do you mean where am I? You don´t know?!” He wasn´t nearly awake enough to be having this conversation, and he was starting to get pissed at his friend.

“How would I know? I haven´t seen you since after the game! I just got a text from Pep to call this number, and you answered and... wait isn't this an England landline?”

There was a beat of silence, Leo biting his lip and waiting for his friend to catch on to what was going on, and when it happened, it was accompanied by a loud, disbelieving gasp.

“ _Shit._ ”

And at that, Leo could only laugh.

The conversation after that was short, Leo too tired to talk much and Geri too stressed to be helpful. They agreed to call each other in the morning, and Geri even promised to call a meeting with the coaching staff as soon he could, and after saying their goodbyes, they hung up.

When Leo turned back to the couch, Kun was blinking drowsily at him, hair mussed and clothes ruffled, and Leo´s heart skipped a beat.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Kun nodded, rubbing his eyes adorably, and all of a sudden, in what was, despite everything, Leo´s biggest surprise of the day, Leo had the urge to kiss him.

_That_ woke him up, it had never happened before, he was used to the butterflies, or the longing, or hell, even jealousy, but not _this. Not this._

Leo wanted to _kiss_ Kun.

Leo _wanted_ to kiss Kun.

_Leo wanted to kiss Kun._

Before he could properly panic, Kun stood from the couch and stretched, his movements slow.

“Better go to sleep now, no? You can use the guest room.” And after planting a short kiss on Leo´s cheek, Kun went up the stairs, and presumably into his room, leaving the Barcelona player alone in the room, blushing furiously and staring after his friend in dread.

Leo groaned, he was in so much trouble.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, have you guys read Kun´s book? I just started reading it, and man, it´s so insightful. Really helps you understand him better, and also, Leo´s prologue *heart eyes*


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me so long to post this, I´m so sorry! 
> 
> I kinda lost motivation half-way through, but then there was a Kunessi reunion and pictures and... welp, here´s a new chapter lmao. (Also thank you for the comments, they truly motivated me to continue updating and writing, thank you!)
> 
> This chapter´s longer than the previous two, I wanted to split it in half, but It didn´t seem right, so... 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!  
> (There might be some typos, it´s 2 am and I am T I R E D, but I wanted to post this, so I´ll check tomorrow and correct them)

 

Ever since Leo was young, back when he wasn´t known as FC Barcelona´s star, but rather as the small, shy kid who loved to play football and would spend hours upon hours running through Argentina´s streets with a ball glued at his feet, even then, Leo was good at keeping his emotions in check, not letting others know what he was feeling.

With time, Leo learned that sometimes, it was better to keep it all inside, no need to make everyone worry about him if there was nothing they could do; his parents couldn´t afford his treatment? It was okay, surely a club would pay for the treatment.

He was moving to Barcelona? No problem, he would adapt soon.

He was debuting in front of millions of people? He wasn´t nervous, he had been preparing for it.

And for a while, it worked. His parents believed him, the coaches were happy with him, it was all okay, as long as no one but Leo knew. But then, when Leo was finally finding his footing with the team, the club´s coach, Rijkaard, left, and that was when the newly turned coach, Josep Guardiola, arrived at FC Barcelona.

At first, there were no big changes to Leo´s life, he was starting to have a bigger role with the team, but that was it, nothing unexpected. Until one afternoon, the day before a match, Leo was asked to meet with the coach after training, it was a strange request, Leo remembered wondering if he had somehow messed up, said something he shouldn´t have to a reporter, or perhaps it was about their last match? It certainly had not been Leo´s best one, but he didn´t think he had played bad enough for the new coach to be concerned. In the end, the request had nothing to do with that, and to this day, Leo could honestly say it had been the weirdest meeting he had ever had with a coach, Guardiola was unlike any coach he had had, he wasn´t shy about complimenting Leo, and treating him like an equal rather than a kid, but what had really thrown Leo off had been the last question, a simple yet loaded; “How are you?”

Usually, whenever Leo was asked that question, all he had to do was answer something along the lines of him being ready to play, that was enough to keep everyone satisfied. But this time, Guardiola had waved off the answer.

“I know that, I meant, _how are you?_ How are you, not the rising star, but _you_ , Lionel Messi?”

And it was at that moment, without Leo realizing it, that he began to trust Pep Guardiola.

That trust only grew with the years they spent together, and when Pep left for Germany, Leo could do nothing but thank him for all he had given him, and hope that, perhaps one day, they would meet again.  

In the next years, they would see each other from time to time, or Leo would hear something about his former coach, but it was too different from how it had been before, and Leo always regretted losing that relationship, losing that trust.

Now, however, sitting in Pep´s office in Manchester, Kun sitting next to him, Leo cursed Pep´s ability to see through him, specifically, to know when he was lying about something.

“So you´re telling me Lionel stayed at the hotel room just like we agreed? And he never even got close to your house?” The question was accompanied by Pep´s incredulous expression, and Leo winced, turning to look at his friend.

“Yep,” Kun, as opposed to Leo, was smiling, clearly enjoying himself.

Pep let out an exasperated huff, and turned to Leo, who immediately straightened up in his chair.

“Is that true, Leo?”

And Leo, just like the good liar he was, answered,

“Huh...”

Kun, next to him, let out a groan, and Pep, for his part, smiled smugly at the player.

“You may know him better, but I know all his tells,” The Man City manager bragged, his smile sharpening, “now, Sergio, I think you´re late for training. Why don´t you take some extra laps as punishment?”

The player groaned again, but obediently headed to the pitch, leaving Leo with his former coach, alone.

“Still can´t lie, can you?”

Leo grinned sheepishly at the other man, and shrugged,

“Not to you, I can´t.”

Pep smiled at Leo, before giving him a calculating look, a look Leo recognized from their Barcelona years, and one that he knew, from past experience, couldn´t mean a good thing.

“So… Sergio, huh?”

Leo froze, was Pep talking about...? Surely, it was something else, there was no way the other man knew, not when Leo himself was still figuring out his feelings. Either way, Leo had to answer soon, or Pep would really know. Unfortunately for Leo, he had never been good at improvising, at least not with words.

“Yes, we… are friends.”

The Argentinian mentally face-palmed, _Really? Of all the things he could´ve said, he had to say THAT?_

The manager was looking at him oddly, and just as he opened his mouth to say something, there was a knock on the door.

“Hey, uh, Mr. Guardiola? The team needs you on the pitch, so uh, could you…?” The voice, a little muffled from the door, was easily recognizable as Leroy´s, and Leo once again thanked the young player for saving him from an awkward situation.

“Of course, Leroy, I´ll be there in a second. Go back to training, alright?”

Pep was still giving Leo that odd look, but he stayed quiet until the sound of Leroy´s retreating steps disappeared.

“Look, whatever it is you don´t want me to know, it´s okay, hmm? When you´re ready to talk, I´m here, okay?” And the look in the former Barcelona coach´s eyes, it was the same look Leo had seen years ago, when he was still so wary and scared to open up, back when he felt like he had to do everything alone.

“Thank you, Pep. I will.” And he would, Leo promised himself, as soon as he was sure of what he was feeling, Pep would be the first one to know.

“Well then,” And the odd look was gone, replaced by that familiar smile Leo was used to receiving, “Do you want to train?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“How come… _He_ gets to sit around… while we do this?” Kun was panting, sweat dripping from his forehead, and his shirt was clinging to his skin, making it hard for Leo to focus, when his friend´s words registered, however, he scowled, staring at Kun in betrayal.

“ _He_ gets to sit around because _he_ doesn´t play for this team, Sergio. Now, go on, I think you still need to do another lap?”

Leo suppressed a laugh at his friend´s disgruntled expression, and he could see Pep was doing the same thing, he had a sneaking suspicion Pep was messing with Kun just to take the attention off Leo, and so far it was working, much to Leo´s relief.

“You know, you are welcome to join the training session, there are no photographers or media around, I asked for a private session for the week, just in case you wanted to join.”

The Barcelona player looked at the manager with surprise, it seemed like Kun wasn´t the only one who wanted Leo to train with the team. And… well, they were both trying so hard to make Leo feel comfortable, how could Leo refuse them the one thing they wanted?

“Do you have a training kit?”

Pep did have a training kit ready, it was a little too big on Leo, but he was used to that, besides, the cleats fit him perfectly, which was all he needed, anyway. When he walked into the pitch, he could feel everyone´s eyes on him, but that was a familiar thing to him as well, it was easy to ignore all the attention when he was on a football pitch.

As he got closer to the team, Kun spotted him, a wide grin appearing on his face when he realized Leo was joining the training session, he discreetly moved so he was standing next to the newcomer, making Leo´s heart speed up. Fortunately, before Leo did something embarrassing, Pep began giving instructions.

“Alright, we´ll take it easy today, let´s have a match, okay? Two teams, Sergio and Gabriel, you´re captains, Gabriel´s team gets the ball first, Sergio, you choose first.” Kun beamed at the last instruction, nudging Leo with his elbow, “Before we begin, I´m sure you´ve all noticed we have a visitor, he´ll be here for the week, and today he´ll be training with us, so behave, huh?”

There were some murmurs of agreement, so Pep turned to Kun with a satisfied nod, signaling him to begin. The Argentine immediately grabbed Leo´s arm, yanking the shorter man towards him.

“I pick Leo.”

Leo saw Pep roll his eyes, but no one said anything about the striker´s choice, they were probably unsure on how to treat Leo, and so the activity continued. Kun´s team, much to Leo´s relief, had some players whose style of play he was familiar with, such as De Bruyne, Hart and Leroy, and knowing Kun, he had picked them specifically for that reason.

Once the teams were created, each team headed to their side of the pitch, and while Kun, as captain of their team, began giving directions, Leroy approached Leo with a spring in his step.

“I´m glad you decided to train with us,” the greeting was accompanied by a friendly pat in the back, and Leo smiled at the younger player´s obvious show of camaraderie, “However, I was looking forward to kicking your ass, guess I´ll do that some other time then.”

Leo grinned, giving him a considering look before covering his mouth so as to not be overheard by the rest of the team.

“We´ll see who beats who right now.”

Leroy frowned, blinking at Leo in confusion,

“You can´t beat me, we´re in the same team!”

Despite his words, the German sounded unsure, and Leo gave him a smug smile, turning to look at Kun, making sure his friend was still busy giving instructions before turning back to Leroy.

“Can´t I?”

Leroy blinked once more, and Leo resisted the urge to cackle and instead moved towards Kun, who was finally alone and waiting for him.

“Leo, you´ll be playing in your usual position, hopefully we´ll adapt quickly and if it works, we may even use this in actual games.”

The Barcelona player nodded, focusing once more, he didn´t want to rob the team of their training time, so he would take this as seriously as a real game, it was the least he could do to repay them.

At Pep´s order, the game began, Leo staying back at first, not comfortable intervening yet. As time passed, however, he tried to get more involved, asking for the ball more frequently and attacking more. He started receiving more and more passes, some of them shy at first, but quickly gaining confidence, until Leo´s team finally scored, over and over, and Pep started to instruct the other team, trying to even the odds.

At one point, Leo, finally fully comfortable with his team, stole the ball from Leroy, earning himself an indignant yelp, and passed the ball to Kun, who easily scored their fourth goal of the evening.

After that, Leo tried to give the other team more opportunities, he knew they were probably wary of him, and still unsure on how to react to him, so Leo pressured them more, trying to get a reaction out of them. It proved to be the right decision, when the other team grew more confident and bolder. By the time Pep ended the match, the score was 5-4, Kun´s team being the winner.

As soon as training was over, Leroy headed towards Leo, much to his teammates´ surprise, and gently shoved Leo, scowling at him in mock offense.

“You know, that wasn´t fair, I wasn´t expecting it, so it doesn´t count.”

Leo laughed, and shoved him back, wiping sweat off his forehead with his jersey, he was leaning towards Leroy to answer back, when someone draped an arm over his shoulders.

“What are you two talking about?”

It was Kun, covered in sweat and grass, which Leo was used to, and with no shirt on, which, despite Leo also being used to, was making him feel all sort of strange things. Strange things he didn´t want to think about when his friend was _right there._

“We were just talking about the match,” he finally blurted out, and Leroy nodded, backing up Leo´s words, when suddenly an idea occurred to the Argentine, “And, actually, I was just about to invite Leroy to join us for lunch.”

Kun blinked in surprise at Leo, but eventually nodded, turning to Leroy, who was already nodding eagerly. The three headed to the showers, Leo showering quickly in an effort to avoid the rest of the team seeing him naked. He wasn´t shy about his body, but he didn´t know half the guys in the Man City team, and he wanted to avoid any awkwardness.

He grabbed some clothes from Kun´s locker, knowing his friend wouldn´t mind, and sat down at the bench to wait for his friends. He was still waiting when Pep arrived, a cellphone in hand.

“Hey, I bought this so you could get in contact with everyone at Barcelona,” The coach said, handing the small gadget to Leo, “It only has Gerard´s number, but he said he´ll add this number to the group chat.”

“Thank you, Pep. You didn´t have to, I´ll pay you as soon as I get my wallet back, I-“

The older man shook his head, placing a hand on Leo´s shoulder.

“It´s alright, Leo, don´t worry about it.”

Leo made to protest, but the coach gave him a look - the same look he used to give him when he was injured but didn´t want to be subbed- and that made him shut up, knowing it was a lost battle.

“So, I heard you´re having lunch with Sergio.”

It was a simple statement, but the way Pep said it made Leo blush, despite his best efforts.

“Leroy´s coming too.”

It was a lame comeback, he knew, and by the way Pep smiled at him, he knew it too.

“Is Leroy also staying with you at Sergio´s house?”

This time, Leo scowled at the other man, his cheeks turning even redder.

“Yeah, okay, fine. I like him, whatever.” The admission was louder than Leo meant to, and he had a second to be grateful for the empty locker room, before a voice interrupted him.

“You like who?”

And it seemed like Leo´s bad luck was coming back, of course it was Kun, _of course._

“Leroy,” Pep answered, not missing a beat, “That´s why he invited him to go to lunch with you two.”

“Oh, yeah, I like him too, he´s a nice kid. A little shy, but nice.” Was all Kun said before going back to searching for clothes.

His embarrassment forgotten, Leo turned to his former coach with a grateful look, receiving a mischievous wink in return.

Kun began a conversation with Pep about the training session, and Leo soon lost interest in the conversation, he kept getting distracted by his friends´ state of undress, he couldn´t help but stare at his naked back, or his strong arms, or…

He was jerked back to reality by Pep hitting him in the back of the head, an amused look on his face.

“I think you were starting to drool a little,” The current Man City manager whispered, checking to make sure Kun´s back was facing them before leaning closer to Leo, “You´ll have to face this sooner or later, you know.”

And Leo knew that, he did. But for now, he was going to go have lunch with Kun and Leroy, and if he stared at Kun some more, well, he was sure Pep would keep the secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! 
> 
> I´ll try to update soon, and please leave a comment, they help me a lot :)  
> (IT´S KUNESSI SEASON AND I AM THRIVING lmao)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot of Kun in this chapter, for some reason even though this is a Kunessi story, Kun hasn´t appeared a lot lmao, don´t worry though, he´ll appear a lot in the next chapter :D
> 
> This chapter is a little angsty? A little cracky? A little longer? I don´t even know tbh
> 
> Also, guys, THE WORLD CUP! I´m so excited! Who are you guys rooting for? I´m obviously rooting for Mexico and Argentina, but best of luck to all the teams! 
> 
> Aaaaaaand, The Kunessi pic! I can´t, how are they so cute??? It´s literally a picture of them staring at each other, LOOK AT THAT LOVE.  
> (It´s 2 am again, I keep posting chapters so late, whyyy  
> anyway, I´ll correct all mistakes tomorrow, so yeah, enjoy!)

 

The small lunch had, somehow, turned into a team lunch. It began with Leroy asking Kun and Leo if he could bring Raheem with him, to which the two Argentines agreed, and then David Silva, along with Gabriel Jesus and Vincent Kompany had asked Kun if they could come too, and by the time they were leaving to the restaurant, more than half the team was joining them for lunch.

They had agreed to meet at a restaurant that, according to Kun, the team visited often. Kun had been adamant on only going to a place where they could trust the staff, probably thinking about all the trouble they could get into if someone spotted Leo and tipped off the media.

At first, Leo had been slightly uncomfortable, Leroy was busy talking with his teammates, and Kun, although sitting next to him, was also talking with some of his teammates, leaving Leo on his own. The Argentine used the time to pull out his new phone, sending a quick text to the only number on the device, and smiling when he got an immediate response.

 

<< Hey, it´s Leo >>

**< < Finally, I´ve been waiting the whole day for your text. >>**

Leo rolled his eyes, Geri could be so dramatic sometimes.

<< Sorry for having a life. >>

Again, the response was immediate.

**< < I leave you for a day in another country and you get snarky? I should´ve done it sooner. >>**

Leo rolled his eyes again, putting the phone away, not bothering to answer his friend.

“Your girlfriend?” Leo looked up at the question, and smiled in confusion at Joe Hart, who was sitting opposite of him, staring at Leo with an understanding smile.

“I´m sorry?”

“Oh, I was just asking if you were texting your girlfriend, you were smiling, so I thought…” The goalkeeper trailed off, gesturing down at Leo´s phone.

“Oh, no. Just a friend from Barcelona,” Leo bit his lip, “I´m actually not dating anyone.”

“Really?” Another voice interrupted, this time it was Raheem Sterling, sitting next to Joe. “I would´ve thought there were plenty of girls after you.”

“Well, I guess, but—“

“You don´t have to tell us, Messi,” Kevin De Bruyne said, elbowing Raheem, “It´s something personal, and we get that.” The last part was directed at Raheem, along with a frown.

“Don´t worry, it´s okay. I was just going to say that I guess I haven´t found the right person yet.” Leo shrugged, and turned to Kevin with a smile, “And call me Leo, or Lionel, whichever you want.”

“Wait, so, if you don´t mind me asking, what really happened? Leroy said the bus left, but that can´t be right, can it?” Raheem, once again, asked.

Leo felt his cheeks get warm, and apparently that was all the answer the other needed, because he let out a startled laugh, attracting Leroy´s attention.

“Are you bothering him? Raheem, I told you to leave him alone!”

The two young players started bickering, forcing Kevin to get involved, and Joe took the opportunity to gently knock his foot against Leo´s, making him look at the goalkeeper.

“Nice to finally properly meet you, we never had the chance to talk after a match.”

“You wanted to talk to me? Why?”

Joe spluttered, looking at Leo with a frown.

“Well, because you´re—“

“Don´t bother, Joe,” Kun said, apparently done with his previous conversation, “It doesn´t matter how many times I try to explain it to him, he doesn´t get it.”

Leo opened his mouth to reply, only to shut it with a click, glaring at his friend the whole time. Both Joe and Kun started laughing, and Leo huffed, smiling slightly. Just then, a waiter walked up to them, ready to take their orders. Time passed quickly from then, and Leo found himself actually enjoying spending time with the team, if the next days were like this, he was sure he was going to enjoy them greatly.

That night, Leo laying in the bed of Kun´s guest room, phone in hand and texting Geri, he remembered Pep´s earlier words. He knew he had to deal with his feelings, but what was he supposed to do? Tell Kun and risk ruining their friendship? He couldn´t do that, not only for them, but for Argentina too, if he ruined their friendship and created unnecessary tension amongst the team, and it hurt the team´s performance? Leo wouldn´t be able to forgive himself for that.

But then again, staying quiet about his feelings could also hurt their friendship, and that was exactly what Leo was trying to avoid. With a sigh, Leo put his head between his hands, why were feelings so complicated?

Maybe what he needed was an outsider´s opinion, someone who didn´t know about Kun and Leo´s relationship that well, and who could give Leo honest advice. With that in mind, Leo picked up his phone again, quickly calling Geri on face-time, only waiting for the call to connect before closing his eyes and forcing himself to blurt out what was on his mind.

“I think I´m in love.”

There was a weird coughing sound, and Leo opened his eyes quickly, immediately wishing he had at least checked to make sure Geri was alone. Luis, Geri and Andrés greeted him from his phone, Geri choking on what appeared to be water, and both Andrés and Luis staring at him in dumbfounded silence.

“Oh god, I´m hanging up.” Leo said, blushing furiously and wishing he could just disappear.

“Don´t you dare!” Geri yelled, having recovered and now blinking at Leo with tears in his eyes, “Don´t you dare hang up, you ass! What did you say? Oh my god, _what did you say_?”

“Forget about it, I didn´t—“

“No, no!” Geri pointed at him, blue eyes shining, “You said you like someone? No, _love someone_? Who? And since when? How did that happen in a day? What are they doing to you in Manchester?!”

Leo covered his face, groaning,

“They´re not doing _anything_ to me, Geri. And can we just forget what I just said? It doesn´t matter, okay? It was a-a joke.”

His friend huffed, narrowing his eyes at Leo.

“No, we´re not forgetting anything. Who is it? Do I know them?”

Luis, who was finally recovering from the shock of Leo´s words, decided to interrupt, much to Leo´s relief.

“Okay, let´s just calm down, guys. Geri, leave him alone and tell him what el Mister said today, and then,“ He gave Leo a meaningful look, “Leo will explain himself.”

The Uruguayan´s words seemed to do the trick, because the Spaniard, after staring at Leo some more, nodded.

“So, I scheduled a meeting, just like I said, and everyone´s kinda pissed that we somehow left you in Manchester, but the board talked to Manchester´s board, and they agreed to keep things quiet and help us get you back here. And they also said they´ll get you a hotel and you can train with the team, but you can´t attend their team meetings or be in the locker room the day before a game, other than that you´re allowed to be with the team whenever you want.”

There was a brief silence after his words, and Luis, Geri and Leo all turned to look at Andrés, who nodded, before Geri and Luis looked at Leo again, waiting.

The Argentine tried his best puppy eyes on Andrés, begging silently for help, and receiving a shrug with the typical “just do whatever Geri wants you to do” look that everyone in the FC Barcelona locker room was familiar with

Leo sighed, accepting his faith.

“You guys remember Kun?” He waited for his friends to nod, Geri biting his lip in an effort to not interrupt him, “Well, lately I´ve been feeling different when I´m with him. Like…” Leo hesitated, trying to find the right words, “Like happier? I´m always happy to see him, but now I just want to be around him all day, and talk to him all day, and just… I don´t know.”

He stared at his friends, judging their reactions; Andrés seemed to be lost in thought, Luis was smiling softly at Leo, and Geri had a giddy smile on his face. The Argentine relaxed slightly, he knew his friends were accepting of his sexuality, but he had never spoken to his teammates –except Geri and Cesc—about a love interest, it was reassuring to see their acceptance.

“And that´s all?” Questioned Geri, raising an eyebrow at Leo, “If that was all, you wouldn´t be freaking out about this.”

Leo blinked, trying to appear oblivious, but dropped the act when he saw Geri give him a deadpan stare, he really needed to work on his poker face.

“I—“ He hesitated again, it was one thing for his friends to be okay with him talking about liking someone, but they might not be as accepting of Leo talking about the physical aspects of a relationship, even with something as mild as kissing.

Geri, as always, understood Leo without words, and turned to Luis with a sickeningly sweet smile.

“We´re all supportive of Leo, right Luis? He can talk to us about _anything_ and we´ll support him, right?”

 The Uruguayan frowned at the Spaniard, probably thrown about the sudden change of topic, but nodded firmly. Satisfied, Geri looked at Andrés, receiving another nod, and finally looked at Leo with an encouraging smile. Leo returned the smile, even if his friend was a huge pain in the ass sometimes, he was still the same kid that would get in fights with older kids for picking on Leo, the same kid that would get himself ejected from games for arguing too much while trying to defend his friend, the same kid that always had Leo´s back.

“Well, I wanted to kiss him, I still do.” This time, the confession came easily, Leo no longer hesitant.

“But you didn´t, did you?” Geri interrupted, his expression serious.

Leo shook his head, biting his lower lip.

“Why not?” Asked Andrés, speaking for the first time.

“Because he´s my friend! I don´t want to ruin our friendship! What if he doesn´t like _me_ like that?! What if he doesn´t like _men_ like that?!”

“Look, Leo. If he really is your friend, he´ll love you no matter what, and he won´t let this break your friendship, alright?” Luis paused, making sure to have Leo´s full attention, “And... from what you´re telling us, it sounds like you really like him, that just won´t go away, you know? I think you should tell him, before it gets more serious.”

Leo looked down, his friends´ words made sense, if he told Kun and his friend said he didn´t feel the same way, it would help Leo move on, wouldn´t it? Then Leo could move on, and their friendship would go back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.

However, no matter how reasonable it sounded, Leo couldn´t get rid of the dread he felt whenever the idea of telling Kun came up.

“Or,” Andrés started, fidgeting a little, reminding Leo of the captain´s dislike of intimate conversations, “You could find out if he likes you too? I´ve seen a few of your matches, and even some of his interviews, you can tell right away how fond of you he is, he could feel the same about you and he just never told you.”

At that, Gerard, who had been lost in thought, suddenly became alert, snapping his fingers as an idea occurred to him.

“You could try _The Cesc Kiss_!”

The Spaniard´s words were met with an embarrassed groan from the Argentine, and a curious look from both Luis and Andrés, prompting Geri to explain.

“When we were still at La Masia, Leo was convinced he was in love with Cesc,” he smiled mischievously, ignoring Leo´s muffled protest, “And me, being the amazing friend I am, decided to help little Leo get together with Cesc, so I created this complex plan—“

“It´s _not_ complex at all, Geri.” Leo interrupted, trying to save himself from the embarrassment, “The whole plan was just you getting both Cesc and me to play spin the bottle, and then make out for five minutes.”

“Well, it worked, didn´t it? You got your five minutes with him!”

“That´s not the point, Gerard!”

A cough interrupted them, and the childhood friends turned sheepishly to the other two, forgetting their argument.  

“As interesting as that story is, I have to agree with Leo, I don´t think that plan would work, Geri.” Said Luis, a badly hidden smile on his face.

Andrés, who was looking more uncomfortable than Leo had ever seen him, nodded in agreement, probably wishing to be anywhere else but talking about his teammate and former teammate´s love life.

Geri huffed, sitting back with his arms crossed in offense.

“Why don´t you ask his teammates?” Suggested the Barcelona captain, still looking uncomfortable but clearly willing to help, “They ought to know something.”

Leo looked at his friends for confirmation, receiving a shrug from Geri and a thumbs up from Luis, and figured, yeah, it wasn´t a sure plan, but it was clearly the best one they would come up with, plus, if it came to it, as embarrassing as it would be, Pep would tell him, he always knew that stuff about his players.

Leo sighed, smiling gratefully at his friends.

“Alright, I´ll do that, I guess I can ask Leroy.”

The name immediately drew Geri´s attention, the tall Spaniard leaning forward in his seat in interest.

“Leroy? You´re in first name basis already?! Next thing you´ll tell me is I´ve been replaced as your best friend!”

Andrés sighed at Gerard´s words, clearly having enough of the conversation, he waved goodbye at Leo before walking out of the camera´s range, the sound of a door closing seconds later.

“Geri that doesn´t even make sense—“

“But it does! Do you have any idea how long it took for me and Leo to properly become friends?” The Spaniard said, directing the question at Luis, “It took months, Luis, months! And now Leo´s comfortable calling someone by their first name after two days of knowing them? My place in Leo´s life is being threatened!”

Luis laughed at their friend´s antics, following Andrés´ example and saying goodbye to both Leo and Geri before leaving.

As soon as the door closed, Geri turned to Leo, his smile disappearing.

“Okay, they´re gone. So, tell me, how serious is it?”

Leo immediately understood what his friend was talking about, knowing Gerard was familiar enough with Leo to know the Argentine wouldn´t be comfortable telling people he wasn´t very close to about his true feelings.

“It´s serious, I think. I´ve never felt like this before.”

His friend nodded, uncharacteristically serious and still, his blue eyes calculating.

“I´m really worried, Geri. What if it doesn´t work out?” The shorter man asked, his words coming out as a whisper.

The seriousness left the other man´s face, and an easy smile took its place, a welcome sight for the Argentine.

“Don´t worry, Leo. You´ve got this.”

And hearing those words, knowing his friends were rooting for him, made Leo believe that perhaps… perhaps he had a chance at a happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter was kinda boring, I just needed Leo to have some sort of support system before things start getting angsty lol, thanks for reading! 
> 
> Please comment or leave kudos! I´ll try to update as soon as I can!


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

For the second time in a row, the sound of a phone ringing woke Leo up, the player scrambled up from the bed, hastily kicking away the sheets that were still tangled with his legs, and stumbling around the room in the dark before finally finding the phone. He quickly accepted the call, frowning when he saw Geri’s name flash across the screen.

“Geri? Is everything okay?” His voice sounded scratchy from sleep, and he couldn’t keep his eyes open, but it was so unlike Geri to call out of nowhere -- especially after having talked less than two hours ago-- that Leo was a little worried.

“Oh yeah, it’s all fine, I didn’t call for that.” His friend sounded normal, even pausing dramatically before revealing something, in typical Gerard-Piqué-fashion, “I know how to get Kun to like you, if he doesn’t already.”

Leo blinked, processing his friend’s words.

“You do?” He questioned dumbly, wondering if this was some sort of dream.

There was excitement in the other´s voice, “Yes! After we hung up, I went and did some research, and I found this super useful article in a magazine!” At Leo’s confused hum, he continued explaining, “And turns out you only have to do stuff like be attentive, sweet, and spontaneous, apparently, guys find that attractive.”

Leo hesitated, not wanting to discourage his friend, “Geri, where did you get that from?”

There was a pause, the Spaniard clearly debating with himself, “From a magazine, I told you already.”

“But, from _what_ magazine?”

“Okay, it was a—“, There was a frustrated huff, and the sound of some papers rustling, “It was a women´s magazine, specifically a magazine for teenage girls, but it´s good advice, Leo! It´s the _´ass method´_!”

“The _what_?!”

“The ass method, Leo! Attentiveness, sweetness, and spontaneity!”

 “Geri… I appreciate the effort and it´s sweet of you to try to help me, but I don’t think that method´s as helpful as you think.” He paused, trying to sound casual, “Besides, it wouldn´t really work, would it?”

“Pfft, Leo, of course it works! You could totally win him over, trust me.”

Somehow, despite his newfound optimism, Leo didn´t think it would be as easy as that, but Geri was his friend, who wanted what was best for Leo, and, as far as Leo knew, was also the most experienced in the dating department out of all his friends, surely all that experience counted for something.

“Well, if I were to follow the ´ass method´, what would I do? Wouldn´t it be weird if I suddenly started treating him differently?”

“No, man, you have to be smooth about it,” The Spaniard replied quickly, his excitement back.

Leo sat down on the bed, phone pressed tightly to his ear. “Geri have you met _me_? The only place I can be smooth is in a football pitch, other than that it´s impossible!”

“Good, at least you´re self-aware, that´s good,” His friend said, his tone light and joking, before switching back to serious, “Listen, then you start in small steps, okay? Compliment him, compliment his hair or his eyes, or even his clothes! And do stuff for him, like breakfast! You could cook him breakfast, it shows you care about the other person, according to the magazine.”

Leo thought for a second, he could do that, just compliment his friend, and cook for him, it was simple and subtle, and maybe it would give Leo a hint about his friend´s feelings. He nodded, before remembering Geri couldn´t see the movement.

“I can—I´ll do that then, I´ll do it.” He said with conviction, promising himself he wouldn´t chicken out, if not for him then for Geri, who had taken the time and effort to help him, “Thanks, Geri, for… helping me, you´re a great friend.”

“Damn right I am,” His friend said proudly, before adding, “A better friend than Leroy Sané, right?”

The Argentine rolled his eyes, smiling, “You just had to ruin the moment, didn´t you?”

“Wha—I´m sharing my insecurities with you! Opening my heart to you, how could you—?”

“Yes, yes, _you_ are being insecure, of course.”

Gerard huffed, but Leo could hear the smile in his next words, “Good night, Leo, good luck.”

He returned the smile, certain the other could hear it too, “Good night, Geri.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The next morning, Leo woke up early, determined to follow Geri´s advice, making breakfast sounded simple enough, he knew Kun´s favorite food, it was an easy first step.

Nearly an hour later, Leo was done cleaning the counter, the table set and the smell of freshly made pancakes wafting through the air, there was also orange juice and mate, and Leo was proud to admit it looked pretty damn good.

There was still no sign of Kun, though, which wasn´t unexpected, the other Argentine wasn´t exactly a morning person, whenever they were with the national team it was always Leo who woke up first, although, on some rare occasions Kun was the one that had to wake the other up, Kun always alternated between waking up too early or too late, which used to drive Leo crazy before he just learned to accept it as another of Kun´s many quirks.

“Leo?” The Argentinian jumped, looking up to the place where the voice came from, to see Kun coming down the stairs, bare-chested and with sleep-ruffled hair . He looked absolutely breathtaking, and Leo felt a blush cover his cheeks, he stared at his friend, his heart racing and the butterflies in his stomach making a reappearance. He briefly wondered how it’d taken him so long to realize he liked his friend, if every time he saw him he felt like that, he really was oblivious sometimes.

“Leo?” Somehow, without Leo noticing, Kun had walked up to him, and was now standing right in front him, a concerned look on his face.

The smaller man blinked, coming out of his daze and mentally reminding himself of Geri´s advice.

“Hey Kun,” He greeted, trying to smile as warmly as possible, “Good morning.” Leo hesitated, before deciding to go for it and hugging his friend, feeling the other man tense in surprise before relaxing, hugging Leo back.

“Are you okay?” Kun asked in a murmur, his breath tickling Leo´s ear, “You never wake up this early.”

Leo nodded, his head still buried in his friend’s neck. They stayed like that for a moment, before Kun, impatient as always, pulled back, trying to see what was on the table.

 

“Did you make breakfast?” The Manchester player questioned, already dragging Leo to the table, “Oh my gosh, you did, didn’t you? God, Leo, I’m trying to be a good host arranging a room for you to sleep in and ordering food, and there you go, waking up early to cook breakfast, do you know how pissed my mom’s gonna be when I tell her? And my favorite food, nonetheless!” Even as he said that, he was already reaching for the syrup, but he paused to smile at Leo, his eyes twinkling, “I really don’t know what I did to deserve you.” 

 

And Kun began eating, completely unaware of Leo's internal turmoil, though, he had to admit, Gerard’s advice seemed to be working so far, now he needed to figure out how to keep it up, how hard could it be?

 

Almost three hours later, drenched in sweat and rain, he regretted his earlier thought, he had probably jinxed himself, or something. It had all gone downhill so quickly too, one minute he and Kun were laughing and joking around, and the next Kun was storming out of the training field, fists clenched in anger and an oddly vulnerable expression on his face.

 

That had been thirty minutes ago, and Leo still couldn´t find his friend. After Kun had stormed out of team practice, leaving all the players, Leo included, staring at him in surprise, Pep had been the first one to react, pushing Leo in the direction of the locker rooms – the place Kun had been headed to– and telling him to go find his friend.

 

Leo, in his haste to find the other, had completely forgotten the fact that he was unfamiliar with the stadium, and when he hadn´t been able to find Kun in the locker room, he´d decided to keep looking, even if he didn´t know where he was going. Now, half an hour later, he was hopelessly lost, soaking wet from the rain that had begun falling not too long ago, and with no idea as to where his friend could be.

 

A clap of thunder made him jump, and he eyed his surroundings warily, it was highly unlikely that Kun was outside with rain like that, especially with the other man´s aversion to thunder, so Leo had no reason to stay outside any longer. The Argentine entered a building that appeared to be the cafeteria, and, despite it being soaked, he burrowed further into his hoody, not wanting anyone to recognize him. He crossed the cafeteria quickly, seeing no sign of his friend, he slumped into a chair, cursing himself the whole time. He didn´t know what he´d done to anger Kun, but it must have been something bad to make him storm off like that, and to make him avoid Leo, never, in all their years of friendship, had Kun avoided him; they´d gotten into a lot of fights throughout the years, and they would ignore each other, sure, but they _never_ avoided the other.

 

Leo rested his wet cheek on the table, closing his eyes in exhaustion, he´d been running non-stop trying to find the other Argentine, but it was useless, he was not any closer to finding Kun than he had been almost an hour ago, and all he´d accomplished was getting himself wet and tired.

 

He sighed, standing up again and heading back outside, not minding the rain now that he was sopping wet. He wondered why Kun had gotten mad in the first place, they´d been talking about Geri, Leo telling Kun what his phone call had been about – omitting a lot of details, of course— and when Leo had gotten to the part where Geri had told Luis and Andrés about Leo´s old crush on Cesc, Kun´s amused smile had frozen. Leo had noticed, of course, but he´d waved it off as surprise, Kun knew him well enough to know about his attraction to men, but Leo had never told him about his brief crush on Cesc, or on Geri, for that matter.

 

Except that, as soon as Leo had admitted the last thing to his friend, Kun, as opposed to his previous reaction, had snapped. He´d shoved Leo away, staring at him in anger and pointing a finger at his chest,

 

“Why do you do that? Why do you _always have to do that_?!” He looked downright furious, and it was the first time Leo had seen him that angry.

 

“I—what? What do you mean? Kun, what did I—?”

 

“Oh, like you don´t know?” His tone was harsh, and he was nearly shouting. Leo, despite noticing all this, was too confused to react properly, and all he´d done was flinch away in response to his friend´s raised voice, like a frightened animal.

 

Kun´s eyes had widened, and he´d stumbled back a step, staring at Leo for a second and then storming off quickly, his fists clenched at his sides.

 

It didn´t make any sense that Kun had gotten mad at him for what he´d said, Kun, as far as Leo knew, was completely accepting of  Leo´s sexuality, and he liked Geri and Cesc, from the few times they´d met. He´d have to ask him about it, but first, he had to find Kun, and then apologize for whatever he´d said.

There was a bright flash of lightning, and Leo winced when another clap of thunder echoed. Immediately, rain started falling faster, and the Barcelona player quickened his pace trying to find shelter. Another long ten minutes later, he was finally entering the locker room, not surprised to find it empty, practice had probably ended sooner due to the weather, and the players would have no reason to stick around.

 

Still, Leo couldn´t leave yet, he had to find Kun and apologize, and if that meant walking round in the rain for another thirty minutes, then that was exactly what Leo was going to do.

He kept walking, ignoring the squelching sound his cleats were making, and figured he could check the parking lot, at least make sure Kun was still in the building.

 

Just as he neared the exit, Pep rounded the corner, his clothes slightly damp, but not looking half as bad as Leo did, and next to Pep, looking exactly as he had almost an hour ago, was Kun.

 

Leo almost face-planted in his haste to reach them, managing to steady himself with a nearby desk to avoid falling, and attracting Pep and Kun´s attention. They stared at him in shock, taking in his shivering form, their eyes trailing from his wet hair plastered to his forehead to his soaked clothes and shoes.

 

“Kun, I´m so sorry, I didn´t mean to hurt you, I swear, I should´ve paid more attention to what I was saying, I´m so sorry.” Leo blurted out as soon as he was close enough to his friend to be heard over the thunderstorm, “Whatever I said I won´t do it again, I´m sorry.”

 

The other Argentine´s expression was pained as he moved closer to Leo, reaching to remove Leo´s hair from his eyes, “Leo, were you... were you outside looking for me this entire time?”

 

He nodded, still waiting for an answer to his apology, and stumbling back a step when Kun threw himself at him. He gave Pep a confused look, not sure whether or not it was okay for him to return the embrace, and receiving a raised eyebrow in response.

 

“Oh god, Leo, you´re shivering,” Kun mumbled, his arms tightening around the smaller man, “I´m sorry I stormed off like that, and I´m sorry I yelled, it wasn´t your fault.”

 

Leo pushed him off him, holding him by the shoulders and giving him a stern look, “Don´t do that, whatever I did, you said I´d done it before, and if it´s hurting you like this, I want to know about it, Kun, I´ll stop.”

 

Kun looked troubled, but before he could answer, Pep intervened, looking around at the people that were beginning to look their way, “What about we take this somewhere else, alright? Let´s go to the locker room, Leo, you need to shower and change clothes, you´ll get sick and that´s the last thing we need.”

 

Kun´s eyes widened, taking in Leo´s appearance again and almost immediately pushing Leo back to the locker room, muttering curses under his breath. When they arrived to the room, Kun rushed Leo to the showers, taking his clothes away and coming back with a clean pile that probably belonged to him.

 

Leo got dressed in silence, listening to Pep and Kun´s quiet conversation, he couldn´t hear them properly with how low their voices were, but he could discern Pep´s soothing tone of voice, and Kun´s frustrated one. When he joined them, now wearing warm and dry clothes, Pep stood up, saying a quick goodbye to both of them and telling them to go home, before exiting the room with a last meaningful look Kun´s way.

 

“So can you tell me what I did?” Leo pressed, wondering why Kun was avoiding the question.

 

 The Manchester player ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip in a show of frustration.

“It wasn´t you, It was just… Your words.”

 

Leo blinked, waiting for his friend to explain.

 

“You were telling me about your love life, and I—I just—“ Kun bit his lip again, looking down at his clenched fist and then taking a deep breath, staring straight at Leo, “I got jealous.” He finally blurted out, his expression wary.

 

Leo´s heart sped up, his mind racing with possibilities; did that mean Kun was jealous because he wanted Leo? Could it be that Kun liked Leo the same way Leo liked him?

He must´ve stayed quiet for too long, because Kun suddenly looked anxious, rushing to explain before Leo could say something.

 

“I mean I haven´t dated anyone in a while. I´ve been thinking about that a lot lately, and when you mentioned your crush on Gerard I remembered that, and I snapped. So, yeah, I got jealous because I haven´t gone on any dates recently, and I should, but I´m having some trouble moving on from someone.” He fidgeted a little, “That´s why it wasn´t your fault, you know?”

 

Leo´s mind went blank at that, a hollowness settling in his chest. “Oh, yeah, that—,“ He let out a dry chuckle, trying to act as unaffected as possible, “It makes sense, you don´t have to apologize, I get it.”

 

Kun smiled, relieved, and put an arm around his shoulders, heading to the door, “Thank you, I knew you´d understand. Let´s go home, okay?”

 

And Leo, despite feeling like crying, smiled, nodding in agreement, “Yeah. Let´s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> A lot´s happened since I last updated, and by that I mean the World Cup has broken my heart over and over again, but hey, we also had Leo´s birthday! And a bunch of Kunessi pictures and hugs! Let´s all focus on the positive guys :D
> 
> Sorry for the angst, I wanted to have pure fluff and then an angsty chapter, but I couldn´t???  
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I´ll try to update soon (I know I´ve said this before, but I mean it, I swear), and bring some fluff, maybe???


	6. Chapter 6

 

 

As opposed to what certain journalists believed and claimed, Leo really did enjoy playing for Argentina; there was nothing like representing your country on an international level, nothing like defending your country´s pride with sweat and tears, and sometimes even blood. 

 

And, despite everything, Leo would never regret picking Argentina, picking his home. 

 

It was true that he also considered Spain to be home, he´d grown up there, lived there for most of his life, but it hadn´t always been that way, at first, when he had just moved in with his dad, he´d felt out of place. He felt like an outsider, being small and having a different accent was tough, add to that being shy and quiet and it was one of the hardest moments in Leo´s life. 

 

It wasn´t until a tall, gangly kid and his slightly shorter, dark-haired friend approached him, that Leo started feeling less like an outsider. They were popular, well known by almost everyone, and as confident as a kid their age could be, it was basically a guarantee that Leo would not get along with them. But they stayed, and they talked to him, and invited him to hang out, play videogames, train together, until one day, Leo realized he had somehow managed to acquire two best friends, and he couldn´t be happier.

 

Still, when the offer to play for Spain arrived, despite wanting nothing more than playing with his two friends, he chose Argentina.

 

He´d been nervous at first, not knowing anyone from the team was a risk, it had been years since he´d last talked to another Argentine, apart from his family, and he was scared they´d consider him an outsider. 

 

Despite his family’s attempts to calm him down, and Gerard and Cesc's reassurances, the first time he joined Argentina’s National Team, Leo was a mess. He was tripping all over the place and stuttering when he introduced himself to his new teammates, receiving more than one odd look, it was only with Pablo Zabaleta that he managed to have a semi-coherente conversation, thanks to the other man’s patience.

 

Since then, Pablo had taken him under his wing, had sat next to him on the bus and at lunch, talked to him at practice and, even when they  weren’t on international duty, they texted each other, kept in contact throughout the season.

 

Their friendship grew when Zaba played on Espanyol, and they tried to go out together as much as possible, to have dinner or just go to each other’s house and talk. Zaba was, after Kun, Leo’s closest friend in La Albiceleste, there was a lot of trust in their relationship, which was the only reason Leo could think of to explain why he had just blurted out _that_ to Zaba, out of nowhere. 

 

They were in Kun's house, Zaba and Ota had showed up with food and drinks after finding out from one of their teammates that Leo was staying with Kun. They´d been upset at first, not understanding why neither Leo nor Kun had told them about Leo´s situation, but once Leo had explained everything they´d gotten over it easily, but had demanded to stay over and at least have lunch together. Before that, though, Zaba had asked to speak to Leo in private, dragging him to the guest room – the room Leo was sleeping in –ignoring the curious looks thrown their way by Kun and Nicolás. 

 

“I wanted to catch up,” Pablo said, once they were both sitting on the bed. “It’s been a while.” 

 

Leo nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly, ever since his friend’s move to England, they hadn’t talked much, and Leo missed his friend. 

 

“So what have you been up to?” Pablo asked, the casualness of his question bringing a smile to Leo’s lips. 

 

“Well, not much,” He started, already anticipating Zaba's eye-roll to his bland answer, his friend always got annoyed when Leo said things like that, “Though, recently my teammates left me in another country, so there’s that.” 

 

Pablo huffed, and smacked him in the back of the head, muttering something about him being a 'little shit'.  

“I’m glad you’re here, though,” the current West Ham player said, giving Leo a quick smile, “You know, Sergio’s been having a tough time lately, he seems lonely, you being here’s helping, I can tell. He already seems happier.” 

 

The smile vanished from Leo’s face; he hadn’t known about that, Kun had never mentioned it. But maybe it had something to do with what Kun had said earlier, about moving on from 'someone'. 

 

Pablo poked his cheek, and Leo realized he was frowning. He wanted to say it was worry for Kun, but he knew he was lying to himself; he was jealous, his friend needed him to be there for him, to support him and make him feel loved, and Leo was _jealous_ about someone he didn’t even know. 

 

“Hey, is everything okay with you?” Once again, Pablo interrupted his thoughts, touching his arm lightly to get his attention. 

 

It was that question that finally broke Leo; all the anguish he´d repressed suddenly hit him hard, and he was blinking back tears before he realized it. 

Pablo, alarmed by Leo´s reaction, was kneeling in front of him in a flash, asking what was wrong with an edge of hysteria in his voice.

 

“I´m in love with Kun,” Leo finally admitted, his voice shaky and soft. 

 

Pablo froze, and Leo did as well, realizing what he had just done. He reminded himself frantically that he trusted Pablo, but that didn’t keep him from panicking.

He was probably about to do something incredibly stupid out of sheer panic, when Pablo stood up, hovering over Leo a little, and then, unexpectedly, he brought his arms around Leo, hugging him close to his chest. 

 

Leo sighed, relieved, and pressed his face closer to the other´s chest, returning the hug with as much strength as he could muster. 

When they finally separated, Pablo sat down next to him again, his left arm around his shoulders. 

 

“He doesn’t know, does he?”

 

Leo shook his head, leaning into his friend´s warmth.

“Andrés said I should tell him, but I´m too scared to do it,” He confessed, “And Geri gave me some tips to ´woo him´, they seemed to be working at first, but then he snapped. I just don´t think he likes me like that.” 

 

Pablo hummed, like he always did when he was trying to understand something. 

“So you´re giving up after one day in Manchester? Come on, Leo, that´s not like you at all.”

 

Leo jerked back to look at his friend properly, a frown on his face, “Zaba didn´t you hear me? He _snapped,_ he got angry at me for trying to ´woo him´,” He shrugged, frustrated with how helpless he felt, “It´s over.”

 

“No, it´s not,” Zaba stood up, looking as determined as he did in the football pitch, “If it doesn´t work at first, you keep trying, and if that doesn´t work, you _still_ keep trying, alright? You´re _Lionel Messi_ , you´re not about to give up like this.”

 

Leo, still disheartened but beginning to feel hopeful again, nodded, wishing he wouldn´t regret this decision later. 

“ _But how_?” 

 

Pablo, as determined as ever, shrugged, giving Leo an encouraging smile. “I don´t know yet, but we´ll figure it out.”

 

And Leo, like a love-sick idiot, believed him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lunch went by quickly, much to Leo´s displeasure, it´d been a while since he had the opportunity to just relax and enjoy the company of his Argentinian teammates, without the pressure of a tournament on their shoulders. 

Unfortunately, Pablo had to leave early, claiming he had an appointment. He hugged everyone on his way out, promising to stop by again before Leo left for Barcelona.

 

As soon as Pablo left, though, Nicolás turned serious, making both Kun and Leo frown at him in confusion,

 

“So, Leo,” Otamendi began, giving Kun a meaningful look, “Are you dating anyone right now?”

 

Leo blinked, surprised by the sudden change of topic, but he didn´t have the chance to answer; he was interrupted by Kun, who started coughing uncontrollably while doing his best to glare at Nicolás.

 

Nicolás rolled his eyes at Kun, slapping him in the back a couple of times until the other stopped coughing, and turned to Leo again, ignoring Kun´s glare.

 

“Sorry, I couldn´t hear you, was that a yes?” 

 

Leo, still confused, shook his head, staring at Kun in concern,

“No, I´m not dating anyone. Kun, are you okay?”

 

At Leo´s answer, Nicolás lit up, and he smiled cockily at Kun, who ignored him in favor of looking at Leo.

 

“Yes, I´m okay, thanks,” He smiled and then quickly looked at his watch, making a mock surprised face at the time, “Oh, would you look at that! It´s getting late, don´t you think, Ota? Don´t you have to go back home? I´m sure your family misses you there.”

 

Leo was lost, he didn’t understand why he was suddenly being interrogated, or why Kun obviously wanted Ota to go. He stared at his friends, watching them while they seemed to be having a silent discussion, one that Nicolás seemed to win, because he winked smugly at Kun and then gave Leo a sweet smile.

 

“Sorry about that, Leo,” The centre back apologized, waving a hand in Kun’s direction, “So you’re not dating anyone, huh? Is it recent, or have you been single for a while?”

 

The Barcelona player gulped, shifting a little in his seat, trying not to let his discomfort show, “I’ve, um, I’ve been single for a while, I guess.”

 

Nicolás smiled, and he nudged Kun a little, “You hear that, Sergio? He’s been single for a while! Like you!”

 

And then Leo finally got it, was this Nicolás' way of making Kun feel better about his love life? It was too direct, but if it worked, wasn’t it worth it, even if it meant feeling a little uncomfortable?

 

He reminded himself of his earlier thoughts, if Kun needed support, then he would give him that, his feelings couldn’t hold him back from helping his friend.

 

So he cleared his throat, forcing himself to appear more confident, “I guess I haven’t made the time for it, or found the right person.” He looked down quickly, before his eyes revealed something he didn´t want them to, “But there’s nothing wrong with that,” Leo closed his eyes, and repeated over and over in his mind that this was something Kun needed to hear, “Or with being in love with someone who doesn’t love you back."

 

There was a screech as Kun stood up suddenly, the chair´s legs scraping against the hardwood floor. Leo registered the sound of the chair hitting the floor distantly, he was too focused on Kun, who looked to be seconds away from crying. Before he could react in any way, his friend was rushing out of the room, the sound of the door that lead to the backyard sliding open echoing through the silent house a second later.

 

Nicolás gave Leo a curious look, but raised a hand to stop him from going after Kun, “I´ll go get him, don´t worry.”

 

Leo hesitated, he wanted to go after his friend, but there was a warning in Nicolás´ words, and his eyes were as cold as if Leo was a mere stranger. In the end Leo nodded meekly, knowing he was too emotionally involved to be helpful to Kun at the moment, and he avoided eye contact when Nicolás stood up to follow Kun.

 

When the door closed behind his Argentinian teammate, Leo slammed his head against the table, why was everything so confusing all of the sudden? Before this week, Leo wasn´t in love with Kun – or at least he wasn’t aware of it—, he and Kun had never gotten into a serious fight, and Leo had never had any problems with his Argentinian teammates; all that had changed in just two days, and it was starting to overwhelm him.

 

The Argentine took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He wondered if this was really what love was like, confusing and painful, and at times, warm and joyful.

 

Once, when Leo was 17, he´d asked Ronnie what love felt like; his friend hadn´t answered, the Brazilian had smiled, a sad little smile that Leo had never seen on him, and ruffled his hair.

Leo had never asked again. 

 

He shook his head, getting rid of the memory, this wasn´t supposed to be about him, it was about Kun, who was outside, probably being comforted by Nicolás, and…

Leo stood up suddenly, feeling disgusted with himself. Nicolás was a good friend, who was doing his best to help Kun, like Leo himself should be doing, not feeling jealous of everyone that so much as _talked_ to Kun. 

 

The Argentine collected the dirty dishes and placed them in the sink, figuring he could at least be helpful in some way instead of sitting around doing nothing and waiting for his friends to come back.  

Neither Kun nor Nicolás were back inside by the time Leo was done, so he grabbed his phone in an attempt to distract himself, he briefly thought about calling Geri, but he quickly discarded the idea; he was too distressed at the moment, Geri would hear his voice or look at his face and he would _know_ something was wrong, and what Leo needed right now was a distraction. 

 

He suddenly remembered Leroy shyly asking if he could give Leo his phone number, the German player had said it was a good idea in case Leo needed anything while he was in Manchester, but Leo knew it was just Leroy’s way of  trying to befriend him. Without thinking too much about it, Leo decided to text him,

 

<< Hey, it´s Leo. >>

He didn´t even get the chance to put his phone down before it pinged with a notification, an answer to his text, it seemed.

**< < Hey, Leo! It´s Leroy! >>**

**< < Sané. >>**

**< < From Manchester City. >>**

Leo bit his lip, amused. He decided to tease the kid a little, just to help him relax around him.

<< Oh, sorry. I thought this was someone else´s number. >>

This time, the reply took longer, but it was still quick enough for Leo to know that Leroy had seen the text immediately.

**< < Oh. >>**

He laughed quietly, but then pictured a crestfallen Leroy, a pang of guilt went through him.

<< I was kidding. Of course I know it´s you, Leroy. >>

Now Leo was the nervous one, anxiously waiting for the other to reply, hoping he hadn´t ruined his friendship with the Manchester City player.

**< < Oh, I really believed you, hahaha. >>**

**< < So what are you doing? >>**

Leo looked around at the empty room, and then at the door that lead to the backyard that remained firmly closed.

<< Nothing interesting. You? >>

 

He hoped it didn´t come off as too cold, he´d been told multiple times – mostly by Gerard–, that he could ´really come across as a dick´ when they texted, but Geri knew him, and he knew how much Leo sucked at socializing, Leroy didn´t.

Thankfully, it seemed Leroy didn´t notice or mind, because he replied quickly again,

 

**< < I was playing some FIFA and Skyping my family. We usually Skype later, but since practice was cancelled, I decided to call earlier. >>**

**< < Do _you_ play FIFA? >>**

Leo smiled, the kid´s effort to befriend him was really endearing. And it´d been a while since someone was so obviously starstruck around him.

<< Of course I do. I´ll kick your ass at it someday. >>

 

He was laughing at the image of Leroy´s offended expression when the sound of thunder startled him, he looked in the direction of the garden, wondering if he should tell his friends to come inside before the thunderstorm began, he didn´t want to interrupt their conversation, knowing Kun needed to talk to someone, but when the sound of rain pattering against the window began, Leo knew he had to tell them something.

He was about to go out the door when he heard Otamendi´s voice, slightly muffled by the door and the rain,

 

“If it´s too much I can take him to my house, or Zaba can. Hell, we can ask him to stay at a hotel, the club already agreed to pay for it, anyway.”

Leo frowned, that was unexpected, and far from what Leo expected their conversation to be about.

He missed Kun´s answer by another clap of thunder, but once again managed to catch Nicolás´ words,

 

“I know that, but what if what happened today happens again? Maybe being away from him helps you, that´s all I´m saying.”

 

Leo´s phone pinged with another text, startling him into dropping it, the device went scattering across the floor, disappearing under the couch. Leo cursed, he knelt down on the floor, trying to find the phone when the door opened, and Kun, followed by Nicolás, entered the house again.

 

He quickly turned to face them, Leo wanted to ask Kun if he was feeling better, or ask for forgiveness for his words, but from the glare Nicolás directed at him neither was a good idea. However, the silence was starting to become uncomfortable, and neither Kun nor Nicolás seemed to know what to say. Leo opened his mouth, trying to come up with something to lighten the mood,

 

“You guys wanna play FIFA?”

 

An even more uncomfortable silence followed his question, but Leo knew it was too late to backtrack, so he powered through, just as he´d seen Geri do in multiple occasions.

“I´ll even let you guys pick a team for me, maybe then you´ll actually have a chance.” His voice was firm, and he even managed to sound cocky at the end. Geri would be so proud.

 

Nicolás was staring at him as if he´d lost his mind, but Kun was smiling softly. Though, Leo noted with concern, his eyes were a little red, as if he´d been crying.

 

“Yeah, let´s play FIFA.”

This time Kun was the one who received Nicolás´ disbelieving look, but the Manchester City forward didn´t seem to mind, he was already reaching over to turn on the TV, a small smirk playing on his lips, “Come on, Ota. We can´t pass up the chance to make him play with Real.”

Otamendi huffed, but accepted the offered control easily. His eyes when he looked at Leo, however, remained cold.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh the World Cup is over and it was an emotional roller coaster jfc, but I´m so proud of Croatia! They were great and they totally deserved to reach the final, and congratulations to France for winning! Also to Belgium and England, they were both amazing :D
> 
> Anyways, now we´re back in the real world, but at least club football comes back soon!  
> (Also, transfer season is CRAZY, so many transfers, wow)
> 
> Now back to this, we get even more angst! I´m sorry! The fluff is coming, I promise!  
> We also get Pablo and Nicolás, and even some Leroy, so....  
> (I couldn´t write Kun crying even though I tried, that shit´s just too heartbreaking, you know?)
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much welcome! I always get super inspired and happy while reading your comments, so please, feel free to leave them :D 
> 
> PD: i probs need a beta, since english isn´t my first language and there´s probably a ton of mistakes here, if anyone´s interested please let me know.  
> PD2: You guys can find me on Tumblr too! I forgot to say this before lmao, I´m ximenalightwood ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I´m back :D
> 
> This chapter´s a little longer, I actually had to split it in two so it wouldn´t be thaaat long lol.
> 
> My thanks to rainedparade for the help! It means a lot :)

 

 

Everything was blurry when Leo first opened his eyes. The room was dark, and Leo laid on the bed in silence, wondering why he was suddenly awake.

 

It became clear very soon: he was hot and sweating despite the cold temperature and his body felt weak and his mind felt fuzzy. Leo groaned; he definitely had a fever, and a high one at that judging by his body´s reaction.

 

One glance at the clock told him it was barely 3 AM, and he knew Kun was supposed to leave at 9, headed to a morning meeting for his match the next day. A meeting Leo wasn't allowed to attend, due to its importance.

 

He wanted to let his friend sleep, but he knew that whenever he got a fever the symptoms were stronger than they should be, and most of the time Leo needed someone to take care of him, so he ignored the guilt and got out of bed with some difficulty – dragging one of the blankets with him— and went to look for his friend. He struggled a bit with the stairs, slipping several times and getting dizzy some more, it didn't help that he could also feel his mind begin to get clouded by the fever, but he finally succeeded and reached Kun´s bedroom.

 

He opened the door without knocking, hoping his friend wouldn't mind too much, and immediately spotted Kun, sleeping peacefully on his bed. Leo went to shake him awake gently, but instead tripped over his blanket and landed face first on the floor, yelping as he went down.

 

Kun was awake in an instant, quickly realizing what had happened and jumping out of bed to help him up, “Shit, are you okay? What happened?”

 

Leo wanted to reassure his friend, not make him worry, and yet, it seemed like his mouth wasn't cooperating, “God, that hurt.”

 

His friend´s eyes widened, and his hands were frantically searching Leo´s body for an injury, Leo moaning in discomfort the whole time, “What's wrong, Leo? What´s wrong?” Kun was desperate, Leo could see that, but he was too far gone, the fever making it impossible for him to think clearly.

 

“I think I'm dying, Kun.” Leo would´ve winced at his own words, but just then a shiver went through him, making him curl up and clench his eyes shut. He was shaking uncontrollably, this was probably the worst of his fever and once he got past this he'd only feel extremely hot and uncomfortable, or at least that was usually what happened.

 

“Shit, you're burning up,” Kun placed his hand on his forehead briefly, but his body relaxed once he realized this was the fever talking and not a serious concern, he let out a relieved laugh, “You´re such a drama queen, jeez.”

 

Leo groaned, squinting his eyes open to glare at his friend, momentarily feeling better. He knew the moment of relief would pass soon, and then he would go back to feeling like death warmed over, so he stood up as quickly as his legs allowed him to, and flopped down on Kun´s bed.

 

“You should call Pablo.” He suggested, rolling over so he was staring at Kun, “He knows what to do when I´m like this.”

 

“When you're like what?” Kun asked, sitting down next to him on the bed and reaching with the back of his hand to touch Leo's forehead again.

 

“Sick,” Leo closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Kun´s cool hand on his burning skin, “He's taken care of me before so he knows what to do.”

 

There was a brief pause, Leo focused on breathing, trying not to let the fever take over once more. When Kun answered he sounded slightly defensive,

 

“I can take care of you.” His hand moved to gently brush Leo´s hair out of his face, “I know how to make you feel better.”

 

Leo, still with his eyes closed, smiled, snuggling against his friend, ignoring his body´s discomfort at being so close to another source of heat.

 

“You always make me feel better, Kun.” His words were beginning to slur slightly, and there was a little voice in his mind that was screaming at him to stop talking, but he was so comfortable with Kun, it was like he had no worries at all, “I love you.”

 

The hand that was carding through his hair faltered for a second, before resuming its soothing movement, “I love you too, Leo.”

 

Kun said something else then, but Leo was already drifting off to sleep, a content smile on his face.

 

 

 

 

 

The next time he woke up, it was to someone gently shaking him, Leo tried to ignore it at first, but when that same person placed a cold, wet cloth on his forehead, he jerked away instinctively. There was a laugh, and Leo recognized it immediately.

 

“Zaba? What are you doing?” He frowned at the hoarseness in his voice, and Pablo did as well. Leo vaguely wondered if he looked half as bad as he felt, “Where´s Kun?”

 

“Said he had to go to a meeting,” Zaba explained, picking up the wet cloth from where it had landed on the bed, “He called me at about 5 am, freaking out and saying you had a fever. Apparently you passed out on him and you wouldn't wake up, and then your fever went up,” Pablo placed the cloth on Leo´s forehead again, ignoring the Argentine´s attempt at getting away, “He said you told him to call me.”

 

Well, that made sense, Leo thought, though he didn't remember any of that.

 

“I don't remember that,” He explained, worried, “All I remember is waking up with a fever, and then going to Kun´s room.  Everything after that is hazy.”

 

Pablo shrugged, apparently not very worried about Leo´s memory loss,

 

“That can happen when you have a high fever, though it usually only happens to kids. It used to happen to me all the time.” Leo nodded at the brief explanation and stood up when Pablo signaled him to do so, “Any clue as to why you have a fever in the first place?”

 

The younger man bit his lip, anticipating Pablo´s reaction to his next words, “Yesterday I got caught in the rain at training.”

 

There was a twitch in Pablo´s face, but his expression remained blank,

“And… you decided to keep training?”

 

“Well, I uh,” Pablo raised an eyebrow, “I went for a walk?”

 

Pablo´s other eyebrow went up, “In the rain?”

 

“Yes?” Pablo seemed to be considering Leo´s murder, so he rushed to explain, “Kun was angry at me and he ran off, so I tried to find him and apologize but I got lost and then the rain began.”

 

At his explanation his friend´s expression visibly softened, “How long were you out on the rain?”

 

“Maybe an hour?”

 

Pablo sighed, a long weary sigh, and began escorting Leo out of the room, placing a hand on his shoulder.

 

“I was going to make you take a cold shower to get your fever down, but considering what you just told me, I think I can get away with what I'm about to do and you won't get mad, you might even learn not to do dumb stuff like that.” Leo blinked, but didn't fight Pablo´s grip on his shoulders as the other Argentine guided him through the house.

 

“What are you talking about, Zaba?” They came to a stop in the living room, and Leo was about to ask what they were doing there, when his friend interrupted him,

 

“Okay, arms up,” Pablo instructed, as if he was talking to a child.

 

Despite the previous ´threat´, Leo obeyed, immediately wishing he hadn´t when Pablo took off his shirt. Still, half-naked and shivering in Kun´s living room, Leo was glad Pablo was there, the older man had an air to him that was similar to Andrés´; calm and in control, which was exactly what Leo lacked and desperately needed at the moment.

 

“Now we´re going to get your fever down, okay?” Leo nodded, still confused, “Kun texted me before you woke up, he says he's on his way back, so we don't have much time.”

 

This time Pablo didn't wait for Leo to nod, he opened the door that lead to the backyard and pushed Leo outside, just as the front door opened.

 

“Pablo! I´m back!” Kun greeted, his voice lower than usual, he probably thought Leo was still sleeping.

 

Leo smiled at the gesture, a big, happy smile that spoke volumes of his inability to think clearly at the moment, and Pablo grimaced, “Leo, you’re clearly not on your right mind, and this is for your own good, okay? I may or may not enjoy this more than I should, but it's still to help you, okay?”

 

And with those words, he shoved Leo into the pool; the deep, freezing cold pool.

 

Luckily, Leo reacted quickly, and resurfaced almost immediately, mind clear of the haziness it had previously had, he felt much better, though the shock of the cold water was making him feel slightly numb, and his hair was sticking to his forehead, probably making him look more than a little silly.

 

He was spitting out water and trying to pull himself out of the pool when he registered raised voices,

“Zaba, what the hell?! He's sick!” Kun came rushing to kneel next to the pool, helping Leo out, “What were you thinking?!”

 

Pablo was too busy laughing to answer, and Kun looked furious, so Leo decided to intervene. He coughed, attracting Kun´s attention, “Do you have a towel?”

 

“Here!” Came a familiar voice, followed by Leroy walking out of the house with a white towel, “It was the only one I could find.”

 

Leo accepted the towel with a grateful smile. Suddenly self-conscious about being half-naked in front of so many people, he tried to cover himself as much as possible, much to Pablo´s amusement, who just laughed harder as Leo began to blush.

 

“Come on, Leo, let's go back inside,” Kun suggested, throwing a dirty look Pablo's way, and placing an arm over Leo´s shoulders, “We´ll get you some nice, warm clothes.”

 

And less than ten minutes later, Leo was sitting in the living room's couch, wearing a hoodie and track pants, and buried under about four blankets.

 

“Here, Kun said you should drink it while it’s hot,” Leroy said as he came out of the kitchen, handing him a mug filled to the brim with scorching hot tea, “How are you feeling?”

 

“I actually think being thrown in the pool helped, surprisingly,” Leo sat up, “I’m feeling much better, thanks.”

 

Leroy smiled at him, awkwardly hovering over Leo until the Argentine patted the space next to him on the couch.

 

“How was the meeting?” Leo asked, once Leroy was sitting comfortably next to him,

 

“Oh, it was normal, you know, tactics, pep talks, the usual.”

 

Leo snorted, “So it was boring?”

 

Leroy let out a surprised laugh, and visibly relaxed, “Yes! Like, I know these meetings are important, and we should pay attention to what Coach Guardiola says, but sometimes they can be so, _so_ boring.”

 

The Argentine smiled, leaning closer to Leroy to whisper conspiratorially, “Pep once told me he hates those kind of meetings too, but he pretends to like them so the players will take them seriously and never miss one.”

 

Leroy´s eyes lit up at the new information, and Leo could see he was dying for Leo to keep talking, but the Barcelona player shook his head, not wanting to corrupt the kid any further. “But enough about that, why´d you come to Kun´s house? Do you need anything?”

 

That got a surprising reaction out of the Manchester City player, who suddenly couldn't look Leo in the eye, “I just wanted to see how you were doing,” He looked up, blushing slightly, Kun was late to the meeting this morning, and I overheard him talking to Ota and Coach about how you were sick and how worried he was. And I thought you might want some company? You have Kun, obviously, and Ota, and I heard Zabaleta was with you, but maybe you wanted to play FIFA or talk, or something.”

 

Leo smiled, feeling a sudden burst of affection for the German player. While Leroy reminded him strongly of a baby-faced, 21-year-old Neymar, he also reminded Leo of himself; back when he was so, _so eager_ to befriend the newly-transferred Brazilian sensation Ronaldinho

 

He remembered at first he couldn’t even _speak_ to the Brazilian without stuttering, and in the end it´d been Ronnie who´d invited Leo to sit with him at lunch, who´d included him in the team activities. At the time it had meant the world to Leo that someone as important as Ronaldinho wanted to be his friend, and even now, years later, whenever he thought of his friend all he felt was affection and gratefulness.

 

Now, looking at Leroy, he wondered if this was how Ronnie had felt all those years ago.

 

“Well, I did say I was going to kick your ass, didn´t I?”

 

Leroy grinned, shuffling closer to Leo to hand him the remote, “You're on.”

 

Minutes later, they were in the middle of their first match – neither of them having scored yet— when Kun and Pablo finally joined them, it was obvious they´d been arguing about something, Leo had easily heard their loud voices, but he´d chosen to ignore them; he trusted Pablo to not tell Kun anything, and it was better to let them talk to each other and fix whatever problem they had rather than intervene

 

“Hey, how do you feel?” Kun asked, his voice soft as he sat next to Leo.

 

Leo took his eyes off the screen, smiling at his friend, “I'm better now,” He briefly looked at Zaba, who was pretending not to hear them, “Thank you for taking care of me.”

 

Kun´s concern melted away, shifting into an expression Leo had never seen before, “I don't mind,” The Manchester player moved closer to Leo, the look in his eyes was startlingly intense, “Not when it comes to you, Leo.”

 

Leo´s breath hitched, his heart skipping a beat. He had the overwhelming urge to confess everything to Kun, right then and there, and he probably would´ve, but just as he opened his mouth, the doorbell rang, making both Leo and Kun jump apart in surprise.

 

The moment was gone, as was Leo´s sudden urge, and he mentally thanked whoever it was that was at the door, he had been so close to just blurting out his feelings for Kun _to Kun._

 

His friend stood up quickly, going to answer the door without saying a word – though Leo thought he heard him mutter a curse – and Leo let out a sigh, feeling his heart still beating like crazy. He turned to look at Leroy, who was still focused on the game, and then to Pablo, who was staring directly at him.

 

“Hey, Leroy, can we pause for a sec?” Pablo asked, his eyes settled on Leo, “I have to talk to Leo real quick.”

 

“Oh,” Leroy looked at Pablo with confusion, so lost in the game he probably missed his and Kun´s entrance, “Yes, of course.”

 

“Thank you,” Said Pablo, pausing to shoot a small smile Leroy´s way before pulling Leo out of the room, “What the hell was that? I thought you said he didn't like you like that!” The older man half-yelled half-whispered in disbelief, shaking Leo roughly.

 

“He didn't—He doesn't! He said he was ´getting over someone´!”

 

“Leo,” Pablo sighed, dragging a frustrated hand through his face, “That right there,” He waved his hand in the direction of the living room, “ _That_ , was not him ´getting over someone´, that was him basically telling you he likes you, okay?”

 

“But,” Leo bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood, “How do you know that? He just said he didn't mind helping me when I was sick. And,” He raised a hand, stopping Pablo before he could interrupt him, “If he likes me, then why would he lie to me and tell me he's in love with someone else? It doesn't make any sense, Zaba.”

 

Pablo frowned in thought, his calm demeanor making a reappearance, “You’re right, it doesn’t make any sense. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t like you too, it could just mean his feelings changed. Feelings don’t make any sense most of the time, you know.”

 

Leo agreed somewhat, but the idea of Kun reciprocating his feelings still seemed like a far-away thing, more his wistful thinking than a real possibility. Before he could voice his concerns, however, Pablo flicked him in the ear, earning a yelp, and shook his head in disapproval.

“I know that look, that’s your 'I don’t think I’m good enough' look, Leo. Whatever you’re thinking, stop it, you _can_ do this, if I see you’re doubting yourself again, I _will_ throw you back into the pool, alright?”

 

The Argentine shivered, knowing his friend meant the threat, and nodded. “Okay, okay, just… don’t throw me into the pool again, please.”

 

Pablo nodded firmly, as if they’d just reached an agreement, and turned to go back to the living room.

 

“Let’s go back then, I think Ota's here.”

 

At Pablo’s words Leo froze, a little weary about talking to Otamendi after the other’s almost hostile attitude towards him yesterday, they’d never had any problems before, they mostly got along great, and Leo even considered them to be friends, but now, after the previous day, he wasn’t that sure.

 

“Let’s go, Leo.” Pablo stopped as well when he saw Leo wasn’t following, “What? What’s wrong?”

 

“I think Ota’s mad at me.” He blurted out, wincing at how childish he sounded, “Yesterday after you left he kept asking me questions, and I thought he was trying to make Kun feel better, so I tried to help, and when Kun reacted badly, Ota wouldn’t let me go after him. And later I overheard him talking to Kun, I think he was talking about me, he said it’d be better if Kun kept his distance from me.”

 

The older man blinked, taken aback by Leo’s explanation. Leo knew he’d grown close to Kun and Ota from the time they’d been in the same team, for a second, the possibility of Pablo not believing him crossed his mind.

 

“Oh, I’m talking to that idiot, alright.” Now it was Leo who was taken aback, surprised by the indignant look on Pablo’s face, “I’ll make sure that idiot sees reason, don’t worry about him, Leo.”

 

Leo laughed, pleasantly surprised by his friend’s answer, but he shook his head, “It’s fine, Zaba, I don’t want you to fight with him, I’m just a little anxious about talking to him. Besides, I already apologized to Kun for hurting him, and he forgave me, Ota shouldn’t have a problem with me anymore.”

 

Pablo nodded, but Leo knew he still planned on talking to Nicolás; once the older Argentine set his mind to something, it was near impossible to persuade him otherwise, which was why Leo didn’t even try to argue with him.

 

“Let’s go back, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Leo suggested, reassured now that he knew Pablo had his back.

 

When they went back to the living room, Leroy was still in the same spot as before, but now Kun and Nicolás had joined him on the couch, Kun sitting between the other two.

 

As soon as Leroy saw him, he smiled, awkwardly shuffling to the left so Leo could sit down between him and Kun, “Sit here, Leo.” The young player grinned, patting the spot to his right.

 

Leo moved to do so, but Nicolás quickly not-so-subtly shoved Kun, making the other Argentine take up all the space,

“Actually, that side of the couch is a little too crowded. Why don’t you sit next to me instead?” Nicolás smiled innocently at him, and Leo felt his own smile falter. He didn’t want to make things unnecessarily tense, though, so he went to obey, when he felt a tug on the back of his hoodie, and Zaba pulled him back.

 

“ _Actually_ , I think it’d be better if Leo sat down next to Leroy, the boy came here to see him, and they were playing FIFA together.” He gave Ota a disapproving look, “Besides, Leo’s sick, he gets to choose where to sit.”

 

Nicolás frowned, but obediently moved to give Leo space, and Pablo turned his back on the others to wink at Leo, before moving to sit next to Nicolás. Leo gave him a grateful look, and sat down, Kun immediately burying him under all the blankets.

 

Leroy tilted his head in confusion, but nodded when Leo shook his head, agreeing to stay quiet for now.

 

“Do you want to keep playing?” The German player asked after a moment of silence, squirming when everyone turned to look at him.

 

Leo smiled when he felt Kun place an arm over his shoulders, and nodded at Leroy, “Yeah, let’s keep playing, I was just about to beat you, anyway.”

 

Leroy squawked with indignation, and instantly got immersed in the game, Leo tried to do the same, but it proved to be near impossible when Kun cuddled up to him, burying his nose in the crook of Leo’s neck, “Will you score some goals for me?” He whispered, so low Leo was sure he was the only one who heard.

 

Leo’s throat went dry, and he was sure his blush was evident, but he still nodded, not knowing what to say. He felt more than saw Kun smile, and he smiled in return, pressing closer to his friend.

 

Leo had never been more grateful for a fever.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys the fluff IS. HERE! :D
> 
> I´m really happy with this chapter, hopefully you guys like it too :)  
> (Football season is almost here! I can´t wait!!)
> 
> On a sidenote, has anyone else seen that Instagram video of Leo playing with Hulk? *heart eyes*  
> That video along with Kun´s "DJ Kun" made my week honestly.
> 
> Anyway, comment and leave kudos, please, I always love to know what you guys think about the chapters :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my beta (rainedparade) for all the help, and for not minding my Kunessi rambles haha
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter, I´m starting uni this week, so I´m not sure I´ll be able to update quickly, but I´ll try my best!  
> Comments and kudos are appreciated <3

 

“If his fever goes up, he should feel better after a cold shower, or just throw him into the pool again, that way´s quicker. But if his fever goes up and you can´t get it down, no matter what, you call me, okay?” A nod, “And, if he throws up, you call me, give him some water while you wait for me and get him to lay down, but _do. not._ give him anything, understood?” Another nod.

 

“Oh, and also, if—“

 

“Yes, I get it, Zaba! If anything goes even a little wrong, I´ll call you okay?” Kun finally interrupted, frustration evident in his voice, “I´m not completely useless, by the way, I think I can handle a little fever.”  

 

Pablo raised a judgmental eyebrow, but didn't reply, he turned to Leo instead, “Don´t go to sleep too late, drink a lot of water, and sleep warm, okay? Six blankets, minimum, and a light breakfast.” He waited for Leo to nod, and then continued, “And if I get a wake-up call because you didn´t listen to me, I´ll do something worse than throwing you into a freezing pool, just so you know.”  

 

Not giving them a chance to speak, Pablo began walking towards his car, pausing once he reached it, he gave Leo a meaningful look, said “You got this, Leo.” And then he got inside his car and drove away without another word, leaving Leo and Kun staring at the back of his car in silence.  

 

“What a mother-hen,” Kun muttered, before closing the front door, “So, Leo, what do you want to do?”  

 

Leo shrugged, trying to repress a yawn, Kun laughed.  

“You´re tired already, huh? Let's sleep, then.”

 

“I've been sleeping the whole day,” The Barcelona player protested, muffling another yawn, “Besides, you had to stay at home because of me, we can do something if you want, I don't want to bore you.” 

 

 Kun was already shaking his head, a small smile playing on his lips, “Nonsense, I could never get bored of you, and you´re sick Leo, of course you're tired, it's normal. Plus, I have a match tomorrow, I need to rest, it was probably a good idea to stay at home today so I´ll be ready to play tomorrow.”

 

Leo sighed, having run out of arguments and bent down to pick the blankets up from the couch, “Goodnight then.”  

 

“Wait, hold on,” Kun said, moving to block Leo´s path to the guest room, “I think the guest room´s colder than the rest of the house, so you should sleep in my room, I´ll take the guest room instead.”

 

“I´m not taking your room, Kun,” Leo began, “I´m the guest, and like you said, you need to rest for your match, you won´t rest well if you´re too cold to sleep properly.” 

 

 “Then I´ll sleep on the couch, you´re sick, so you should have the warmest room.”  

 

“But it's your house, I can't take your room and let you have the couch!” 

 

 “Then we'll both sleep in my room!”

 

They both went silent at that, and Leo cursed himself for blushing, hoping it wasn't too evident. To Leo´s surprise, Kun was blushing as well, his cheeks turning an adorable shade of red. 

 

“I mean, if you don´t mind, but I can take the couch, like I said, or the guest room. They´re both actually very comfortable, I´ve slept there before, I wouldn´t mind doing it again, if you—“ Leo decided to interrupt his friend´s rambling, not wanting to make things more awkward.

 

“I don't mind, Kun, we've shared a room for years, how different can it be?” Though _really_ , Leo should´ve known better. 

 

Later on, a **s** both of them were lying in bed in the dark, Leo was beginning to regret his decision to share a bed.  Because if he had so much trouble controlling himself when he was sitting next to Kun on the couch, how did he expect himself to be in control _when they were sleeping in the same bed_?

 

“Hey,” Kun whispered, “I just wanted to apologize, I know I've been weird lately, and today you were probably sick because you were in the rain yesterday looking for me. I'm sorry, I know I haven't been a good friend lately.”

 

Leo turned to stare at his friend incredulously – not being able to make out his friend´s expression due to the darkness– and shifted so he was lying on his side, facing Kun. 

 

“Kun, you´re letting me stay at your house, eat your food, use your things, you take me to your training sessions and make sure I'm comfortable, you spend all your time with me, you buy me clothes, take care of me when I'm sick.” Leo paused to let all that sink in, “You could have let me stay at a hotel and visited for a few hours, you didn't have to do all this, and yet you did. If that's you being a bad friend, then I've never been a good friend in my life.”

 

Kun sighed, and mirrored Leo´s posture, easily looking him in the eyes now that their eyes had adjusted to the darkness. 

 

“That's not what I'm talking about, though,” Kun frowned, his eyes never leaving Leo´s, “I'm talking about yesterday, I yelled at you for no reason in front of everyone, and then later, with Ota, I knew you weren't comfortable with his questions, and I didn't even try to stop him.”

 

“I already said you yelling at me was my fault, Kun, and it's not your job to protect me, I can take care of myself.”

 

Kun stared at him, challenging, but averted his eyes when he finally spoke, “Zaba did.”

 

Leo´s features softened, and before he could stop himself, he reached a hand to touch Kun´s bare shoulder, “You´re not Zaba, you don't have to take care of me, Kun.” 

 

Kun seemed to mull the words over, his frown deepening in obvious displeasure.  His words, however, were hesitant, “What if I want to?”

 

Leo jerked back in surprise, his hand leaving the warmth of Kun´s skin, but Kun reacted quickly, and he grabbed Leo´s wrist softly, turning it around gently so his palm was facing up. 

 

“What if I want to take care of you, Leo?”

 

Kun´s hand slowly let go of his wrist, moving to place his palm against Leo´s, waiting a few seconds and then intertwining their fingers. Leo let out a shaky breath, feeling his heart racing.

 

“Would you let me?” Kun asked, bringing Leo´s hand up to his mouth and kissing it softly. 

 

Leo felt like he was in a daze, and for a second the idea of all this being a fever dream made him want to cry. He must've made a noise, because Kun´s eyes widened, and he pulled Leo closer to him, the smaller man´s head resting on his chest. 

 

“Hey, it's okay, it's okay.” The Manchester City player murmured, “I'm here.”

 

The words helped Leo calm down, but he still wasn't completely sure this was real, it was too good to be true, he thought.  He wanted to tell Kun how much he cared about him, how much he _loved him_ , but the words just wouldn't come out, instead, he clung closer to Kun, burrowing his face in the other’s chest.  

 

“You deserve better, Kun.” Leo admitted, squeezing his eyes shut so he wouldn't see his friend´s reaction.   

 

That proved to be useless, however, when Kun took a sudden, deep breath, and tightened his arms around Leo, crushing him almost uncomfortably against his chest.

 

“And you deserve to be happy.” Kun answered finally, still whispering.

 

“You make me happy.” Leo replied immediately, feeling oddly vulnerable.

 

He felt more than saw Kun´s smile, and he smiled in response, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.  They stayed silent for a while, both lost in thought, and Leo wondered what his friend was thinking about. Surely he knew what they were doing wasn't exactly something a couple of friends would do, right?

 

But then again, Kun _was_ a very tactile person, maybe it was a normal occurrence for him? 

 

“Stop thinking so much,” Kun murmured, his words beginning to slur with sleep.

 

Leo sighed, but obeyed, cuddling closer to Kun and closing his eyes, might as well enjoy it while it lasts, was his last thought, before he let sleep take over.

 

 

* * *

 

 

For the first time since he was in Manchester, Leo woke up slowly; the singing of the birds the only sound in the otherwise silent morning.  Gradually, he became aware of the feeling of an arm slung over his body, a hand clasped in his. 

 

Leo tensed, momentarily confused, and then instantly relaxed once he remembered what had happened the night before. Slowly, he lifted his head from where it had been resting on Kun's chest, and stared at his still sleeping friend; he had a small smile on his face, and he looked peaceful enough to make Leo reconsider waking him up. One glance at the clock, however, quickly changed his mind; if he remembered correctly, Kun had a game at 3:00, and Leo knew from experience a player had to be at the stadium _at least_ three hours prior, meaning Kun had about twenty minutes before he was requested to be there. 

 

“Kun,” Leo whispered, trying to gently coax the other awake, “Kun, wake up.” 

 

His friend only grumbled in response, and pulled Leo closer to him, fully intent on going back to sleep. 

 

“No, Kun, come on.” The smaller man managed to free himself from the other´s grip, and began shaking him, finally succeeding in getting him to open his eyes. 

 

“Leo, stop, please,” Kun moaned, his voice hoarse from disuse, “Can't we just go back to sleep? Please?” 

 

As tempting as that sounded, Leo wasn't about to let his friend miss a match, and Kun knew it too, judging by the long-suffering moan he let out before sitting up. 

 

“Okay, fine, I'm up.” He got out of bed slowly, and Leo could see the exact moment he remembered what had happened last night; Kun blushed, staring at Leo – who was still laying in bed– with a small, shy smile. 

 

Leo began blushing as well, not able to contain his own smile, and they stayed like that for a moment; smiling giddily at each other.  They were so lost in each other, neither of them heard the front door opening, or the loud greeting from the living room, it wasn't until the door from the room they were in opened that they realized there was someone else in the house.

 

“Are you guys here? What are you two–?” It was Zaba, looking mildly exasperated and surprised, and holding a set of keys in one hand, “Oh.”

 

Leo stared at him wide-eyed, frantically thinking of something to say, surprisingly, Kun seemed to have the same problem as him. In the end, after a long, awkward silence, it was Pablo who spoke again, his tone painfully casual, “I'll go make breakfast.” And he turned around and walked out of the room, Leo and Kun too shocked to answer.

 

They shared a look, and then broke into hysterical laughter, breaking the awkwardness.

 

“Oh god, his face,” Kun said between laughter, clutching his stomach, “Did you see how _awkward he looked?!_ ”

 

Leo laughed in agreement, clutching his own stomach and shaking uncontrollably, which only worked to make his friend laugh harder and fall back on the bed, next to Leo. They finally calmed down a few seconds later, panting and smiling stupidly at each other, until Zaba´s voice interrupted them again, sounding strangely fond.

 

“Sergio, if you´re not ready to go in fifteen minutes I'm calling Pep and telling him you need him to pick you up, and you know he´ll have no problem coming to get you.”

 

Kun´s eyes widened, and Leo bit his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing again. 

 

“I'm almost ready, Zaba!” The Man City player yelled, getting up and frantically gathering his clothes, “Stop laughing, you jerk,” He said once he saw Leo's face, “It's not funny.”

 

Leo grinned, not bothering with a reply.

 

“Hey,” Kun said, now standing in the bathroom´s doorway, “I know it sucks you can't come with me to the game, but I'll try to come back as soon as I can, okay?” 

 

Leo´s grin morphed into a soft smile, “Don't worry about me, Kun, enjoy some time with your team.”

 

Kun quickly walked closer to Leo, bending down to place a soft kiss on his forehead, “I'll come back as soon as I can.” He promised, and walked into the bathroom, not noticing Leo's furious blush. 

 

Leo sighed, a goofy smile on his face, and stared dreamily at the ceiling, he felt like he was floating, like everything was good in his life and nothing could ruin it. That was, until he heard Zaba call his name, “Lionel, don't think just because you have to stay here you can lay in bed while I cook breakfast, get your ass down here.”

 

The Argentine snorted, making his way towards the kitchen as slowly as he could, trying to annoy the older man, “Are you always this grumpy in the mornings?” He asked, not bothering to wipe the smile from his face.

 

“Are you always this happy in the mornings, or just the ones when you sleep with Sergio?” Pablo replied, briefly glancing at Leo, “I can see you´re feeling better, that's good.” 

 

Leo laughed, hugging his friend in greeting, “Much better.”

 

“Look,” Pablo began, his face turning serious, “I don't want the details, but isn't sleeping together a big step?” He paused, frowning a little, “Are you two a thing now?”

 

Leo's smile dimmed a little, he ducked his head feeling self-conscious, “It wasn't like that, he was worried about me, and he offered me his room, but I didn't want to take his room and make him sleep in the couch, so we shared.”

 

Pablo was staring at him in expectation, waiting for him to elaborate, so he continued, “He was trying to be a good friend, making sure I was comfortable and warm.”

 

Pablo let out a disbelieving snort, “Sure he was, Leo. Do you know what else he could´ve done? He could´ve just checked up on you every few hours, if he chose to sleep with you it's because _he wanted_ to sleep with you.”

 

Leo glared at him, “Maybe he was really worried.”

 

“Do you mean to tell me,” Pablo said slowly, raising and eyebrow, “That sleeping with someone is a sign of friendship?” 

 

Well, when he put it like _that_ it sounded really dumb, but Leo was sure Kun didn't mean it as anything more than friendship, no matter what the other had said last night, or what he'd done.

 

“Okay, Leo, I'm not going to ask any more questions, but I want you to consider, just consider, the possibility that Kun feels the same way, can you do that? You don't have to do anything about it, just consider it, okay?” 

 

Leo nodded, and Pablo smiled at him, reaching to ruffle his hair, “Now, I'm going to make breakfast, why don't you go and set the table?”

 

Leo nodded again, and headed over to the dining room, setting the table in a matter of seconds and standing uselessly next to it, he was still reeling from Pablo´s words, ´consider the possibility that Kun feels the same way´ he'd said. Leo tried to imagine what that would be like; Kun in love with Leo, Kun, outgoing and confident and good-looking Kun, interested in Leo, in shy, socially awkward, boring Leo. 

 

Leo sighed, no matter how hard he tried to imagine it, it didn't seem like something that could actually happen, Kun was too bright for him, too _good_. 

 

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a phone ringing, and it took him a moment to realize that it was his phone. He rushed to the living room – where the sound had come from– and knelt next to the couch, near the spot where he last remembered seeing his phone, it took him a few tries to actually get it from underneath the couch, and when he pulled it out the ringing had stopped.

Leo unlocked the phone, and did a double-take when he saw the notifications; he had about sixty missed calls, and more than eighty unread texts, a lot of them from Gerard and Luis, and the rest from his Barcelona teammates, there were even some texts from Pep and Leroy.

 

He decided to call Luis first – knowing Geri would spend at least fifteen minutes lecturing him on the importance of answering your phone– and immediately reached the Uruguayan´s voicemail. 

Trying to avoid a lecture, he tried calling Andrés next, and got the same result, as a last resort, he pulled up Ivan Rakitić´s contact on his phone, he could try calling Busi or Jordi, or even Marc-André or Sergi, but they were likely to be around Geri at training, whereas Ivan usually hung out with Paco, Andrés and Denis. 

 

Plus, Ivan was less likely to immediately inform Geri that Leo was on the phone, he was _that_ much of a good friend.

 

The phone rang three times, before the call was picked, and Leo knew right away that Ivan was in the training field, there was the unmistakable sound of the trainer´s whistles and the loud yells from his teammates.

 

“Hey, Leo!” Ivan greeted cheerfully, his voice loud so Leo could hear him over all the background noise, “How´re things in Manchester?” 

 

Leo laughed, “A little cold, but other than that it's all good. How's Barcelona?”

 

There was a pause, and the background noise became a little distant, Ivan had probably walked away from the pitch.

 

“It's alright, we miss you and are very, very sorry for leaving you behind, by the way, especially Gerard, he's been acting like a kicked puppy whenever someone mentions your name.”

 

Leo huffed, ”Of course he is. But hey, I wanted to ask, is everything okay? I lost my phone and just found it, I have a bunch of missed calls, and most of them are from Geri.”

 

The Croatian hummed, “He's been kinda anxious lately, especially after Pep called to tell him you were sick. And you know how he gets when he's worried.”

 

Leo immediately felt flooded with guilt, despite the fact that Geri was in part responsible for leaving him behind, the Catalan had been nothing but helpful the entire time; arranging a meeting with the board, making sure Leo had a place to sleep and train, giving him advice about Kun, and Leo was avoiding him because he didn't want to get lectured.

 

He sighed on the phone, “Ivan… is Geri nearby? I think I should talk to him.”

 

“Yeah, I figured, I told Marc to get Gerard as soon as you called,” Ivan replied quickly, a hint of a smile on his voice, “I'll give him the phone now, nice to talk to you!”

 

Leo smiled fondly, he hadn't realized just how much he missed his team until now.

 

“Hello? It's Gerard,” Geri said, his voice cautious, “Who is it?”

 

“It's me, Geri.” 

 

There was a gasp, then a curse and then Geri´s voice was louder over the phone, causing Leo to flinch, “You little shit, I've been calling you non-stop since yesterday and you call Ivan first? Really?!” 

 

Leo opened his mouth to interrupt, but the Catalan wasn't done talking, “So Pep calls to tell me you´re sick with a fever, and I _know_ how you get when you have a fever, so I try calling you to see how you´re doing and you _don't pick up_. And I think ´Okay, Gerard, don't worry too much, Agüero´s probably taking care of him, he's okay´ and what a surprise, Agüero is _not_ with you, because he's on a meeting with the team, so does that mean you're alone somewhere out of your mind with a fever?

 **"** Who knows? Certainly not me, _because you´re not picking up the phone_. So I'm panicking a little now, and I tell the team, and we´re all calling you or trying to get someone to check up on you, but it's hard, of course, because not a lot of us have friends in England, and even less of us know Agüero´s house address.

 **"** In the end, I call Cesc, and ask him to take a flight, or a bus or _anything_ to Manchester, and he's all ´But Gerard, it's a three hour drive, it's too long´, and I say ´Why, yes, Cesc, it is too long, but Leo's not picking up the phone, it's important.´

 **"** And just as he's been driving for about thirty minutes, Pep calls again, and he says you´re okay now, and that I don't need to worry anymore. But you're still not picking up, so maybe you're not fully okay, but there's nothing I can do, only wait. So I wait and wait, until finally, you call, but you don't call _me_ , you call Ivan, because clearly he's your best friend, clearly.”

 

Leo gulped, feeling nauseous with guilt, “I'm sorry, Geri, I was sick and–”

 

“Just–” Gerard sighed, sounding tired, “Don't disappear like that again. Please.”

 

The Argentine nodded, and then realized his friend couldn't see the action, “I won´t, I promise.”

 

There was a brief silence, and then Geri spoke again, sounding more relaxed, “Are you really better now?”

 

“Yes, I am,” Leo rushed to answer, “Besides, I wasn't alone.  Pablo stayed with me.  Pablo Zabaleta, you know? He was with me the whole time I was sick, him and Kun, that is.”

 

Geri hummed, and when he spoke, it was with a teasing tone, making Leo realize his friend had forgiven him, “So Kun took care of you?”

 

Leo blushed, grateful the Catalan couldn't see him.

 

“Shut up, it wasn't like that.”

 

“Oh, are you sure it wasn't like _that_?”

 

 “God, you sound just like Zaba.” The Argentine complained, smiling despite himself.

 

“So he knows? Did you tell him about your little crush on Agüero?”

 

Leo froze, debating with himself whether or not he should tell the other about last night, in the end deciding he should, maybe his friend had some useful advice for him.

 

“About that…”

 

“What? Did something happen?” Geri interrupted, his voice full of excitement, “Did you two kiss?”

 

“No! We–We slept together.”

 

The line was silent after that, so silent that Leo began wondering if Geri had accidentally hung up or something, but when he checked, the call was still on progress.

 

“Geri? You still there?”

 

There was some shuffling on the other end, and then his friend answered, “Yeah, I'm still here. I was just–You _slept_ with him? Like–”

 

“ _Just slept_ , nothing else, jeez, Geri.”

 

“Oh, I thought– _Oh_.”

 

“Zaba said it meant Kun might also be interested in me, but I don't see it, you know? He's so much better than I am, Geri, how could he like me?”

 

The Catalan let out a snort, “He's not better than you, he's different, and maybe Zabaleta´s right, he could like you back. He's either the best friend in the entire world, or he likes you back.”

 

“You really think so?” 

 

“Leo, of course I do, and I think, deep down, you think so too.”

 

And at that, Leo could only agree.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, guys! I'm so so sorry it took me so long!  
> I've been super busy with college and life in general, and THEN i got the worst case of writer's block I've ever had and it was awful, but the chapter is here!  
> It's a little short, but I'm happy with how it turned out, after how much i struggled with it lol
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

 

 

Watching Kun struggle to eat breakfast and get ready to leave while Pablo was screaming at him to hurry was probably the funniest thing Leo had ever seen, and he'd been friends with Geri _for years._

 

With Kun gone, Pablo relaxed, slumping down into the chair in front of Leo, “Still don’t know when you’re leaving?”

 

Leo shook his head, swallowing the last of his breakfast, “Weather still hasn’t improved, they’re considering hiring a bus, or even buying train tickets and having someone accompany me to Spain,” The Argentine shrugged, “Barcelona can manage the next game without me, and the one after that, if it comes to it. I’m more worried about the media finding out, you know how intense things can get, and I don't want either Manchester or Barça to have to deal with that.”

 

Pablo grimaced, knowing first-hand how out of control things could get when it came to the media and rumors about Leo.

 

“Don't worry, we'll figure something out, or the club will.”

 

Leo smiled, “I know, I'm actually not that worried, plus, I'm okay with staying in Manchester for a few more days, as long as Kun doesn't mind me staying here.”

 

Pablo snorted, smiling slightly, “I'm sure he would be more than happy to have you here for a few more days,” His eyes shone mischievously, “Which reminds me, I have an idea.”

 

“An idea? For what?”

 

The older man leaned closer to Leo, “To finally convince you that Sergio feels the same way.”

 

At Leo's troubled expression, Pablo raised his hand, “Just give me one chance, _one_ , today, to change your mind, and if it doesn't work, I won´t bring it up again.”

 

Leo bit his lip.  He hated the fact that he was still hesitating – despite Pablo's many reassurances along with Geri's encouraging words– but all he kept thinking about was how much he could lose if things went the wrong way.  That alone was enough to make Leo feel like throwing up whenever the idea of confessing crossed his mind.

 

However, there was also a side of him that longed to tell Kun everything, to get that weight off his chest and hope for the best, it was the same side that held a glimmer of hope, that wanted to believe that Kun felt the same way, and that they could get their happily-ever-after despite everything. 

 

His mind screamed at him to stay quiet, that the risk of losing Kun was too big, that he would be an idiot to try, but his heart begged him to try, to risk getting hurt, because he knew that if things worked out, and he got together with Kun, it would all be worth it.

 

Leo was still trying to decide when the image of Kun from this morning popped up in his head.  He remembered Kun's ruffled hair and sleepy smile, the way his eyes lit up when he saw Leo, and the way he'd kissed him on the forehead as goodbye.

 

Various memories flooded his mind then; Kun kissing his hand, Kun hugging him after their fight, Kun cuddling with him on the couch, Kun beaming at him after scoring in practice, the memories rushed through his mind, and Leo was suddenly filled with determination.

 

He was Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona and Argentina's #10, five time Ballon d'Or winner, and he had never let fear stop him from doing something, not from playing football, or scoring goals, and it wasn't going to stop him from being happy.  He wouldn't let it.

 

With that in mind, he looked up at his friend, “What's the plan?”

 

“Well…” Pablo began, his smile widening at Leo's newfound confidence, “How do you feel about getting a haircut?”

 

 

 

* * *

 

  

 

 

“Are you sure Pep's okay with this?” Leo questioned for the umpteen time, looking around the hall anxiously, “Won't he get mad? I don't think I'm allowed to be here on match days, Zaba.”

 

“Leo,” Pablo stopped walking and turned to him, “Pep was the one who suggested I bring you here, of course he won't be angry.”

 

The Argentine stopped in his tracks, “He _what?_ ”

 

Pablo shrugged, pulling out a small key and unlocking Pep's office, “He called me to suggest I bring you to the game so you don't get bored,” Leo nodded in understanding, Pep still knew him well then, “But personally I think he wanted to check up on you.  Since even Leroy, who doesn't know you that well, was worried, I can imagine how worried Pep was. Sergio's always been dramatic, add to that that he was anxious about leaving you with me, and this is what we get.”

 

“So who knows about this plan of yours? Not Pep?”

 

“My wife knows,” Pablo flushed a little from where he was rummaging through a drawer, “She actually came up with it, I just made some small changes, but it was all her.”

 

“Oh,” Leo flushed, the idea of someone else knowing – even if it was someone he knew was trustworthy— embarrassed him a little, “Tell her I said thanks.”

 

“Will do, but for now let's focus on the plan; I have the clothes, let's go to the locker room so you can change.” Pablo was back to bossing him around in an attempt to distract him from the sudden awkwardness, which Leo appreciated, so he trudged obediently to the locker room.

 

He undressed quickly, knowing the match was about to start, and changed into the clothes he'd been given, not thinking anything of the dark jeans, but startling at the jersey.

 

It was Kun's jersey.

 

He wanted to ask Pablo about it, but he knew the older man would refuse to answer his questions about 'the plan', so he ignored the butterflies in his stomach and slipped it on, immediately feeling self-conscious. It was weird, considering he'd spent most of the week wearing Kun's clothes, but there was something different about wearing his jersey, he didn't get the time to dwell on it though, as Pablo was urging him to hurry so they could leave to watch the match.

 

Leo was pleasantly surprised at their seats; they were in the private area, for obvious reasons, but apart from a couple of businessmen, they were alone.

 

Later, watching the match, Leo was reminded of his own team. He missed them, and he missed playing football with them even more; it was weird, even when they weren’t playing, they would meet often, so Leo got to see his teammates more or less regularly, but this time it had been so unexpected that the Argentine felt their absence even more.

 

The first half was over quickly, tied at zero, despite Manchester City's evident superiority, but that was football, full of unexpected results, and just one more reason to love the sport, in Leo’s opinion.

 

Before he knew it, Pablo was dragging him back to the locker room, muttering under his breath about 'the plan', which Leo ignored. He was too busy thinking about the match; what suggestions he could give to Kun or Leroy, what advice could help Pep, anything to help the team.

 

“We’re here,” Pablo announced, yanking Leo out of his thoughts, “Go do your thing.”

 

Leo frowned, blinking innocently at his friend, “What thing?”

 

The older man smiled, reaching to fix Leo’s hair, “Just go talk to Kun, be yourself.”

 

The Barcelona player nodded, not sure what Zaba was planning, but willing to go along with it.

 

They snuck into the locker room, being careful so as to not be seen, and entered the room to absolute chaos; Raheem and Gabriel were engaged in a shouting match, Kevin, Joe and David Silva were trying to diffuse the situation, and the rest of the team was scattered across the room – some guys were drinking water, others simply talking amongst themselves— not worried about the fight, all in all, not at all a team.

 

Leo turned to Pablo with concern, “Should we do some—“

 

“What the hell is going on here?!”

 

They both jumped, simultaneously turning in the direction of Pep's voice; the man looked pissed, and Leo winced in sympathy, he was _not_ looking forward to what was about to happen.

 

“Is this what we’ve come to? Fighting amongst ourselves when we’re supposed to be thinking about how to beat _them?_ If this is how it’s going to be now, we might as well not show up to the rest of the games, because we will not win a single one!” He looked at all his players, disapproval clear on his face, then he turned to Raheem and Gabriel, “You want me to tell you the truth? It’s _your_ fault we’re not winning already,” Pep pointed a finger at Gabriel, “ _And_ yours,” he continued, this time pointing at Raheem, “And yours, and yours, and yours,” With each word, he kept pointing at a different player, causing them to lower their heads, until everyone but Leo, Pablo and Pep were staring at the ground in shame.

 

“And it’s _my_ fault too, that’s why we are a team! We work together, we win together and we lose together, if you can’t come together as a team, we’re done.” Pep paused, calculating, “Now, I will stand outside of this room, and when I come back, this team – if it is still one— will have talked, and will tell me how they’re planning on winning this game.” He assessed them coldly, “You have four minutes.”

 

There was absolute silence as the manager walked out, but as soon as he was out of sight, everyone started talking at once. In the midst of it, Leo could see Raheem and Gabriel apologizing to each other, Nicolás shaking Phil Foden's hand, and Joe sharing a relieved look with Kevin.

 

Leo also shared a relieved look with Zaba; it didn’t matter if it wasn’t his team, he had come to care for this team too, and he wanted to see them do well.

 

Zaba nudged his side after a while, “Let’s go find Kun.”

 

Luckily, they didn’t have to search for long, in the end, it was Kun who found them; Leo was following Zaba through the room when someone hugged him from behind, he knew right away who it was, so he relaxed immediately.

 

“God, you look great, Leo,” Kun said, resting his head on Leo’s back, Leo could feel his grin, “You look so good.”

 

The shorter man smiled, twisting around so he could face his friend, “Don’t I always?”

 

“You do,” Kun agreed easily, making Leo blush, “You look especially good wearing my jersey, though.”

 

Leo grinned, it seemed Pablo’s plan was working, but now it was his turn to take the extra step, to make sure Kun knew where he stood and what he wanted.

 

“Maybe I should wear it more often, then,” He smiled coyly, feeling a rush when Kun’s eyes darkened.

 

“You should,” Kun’s smile turned predatory, “I would _really_ appreciate it.”

 

Leo's heart was beating like crazy, _this_ was definitely not friendship territory.

 

“You should've told me you were coming to watch the match, though,” Kun pouted, going from flirty to innocent in the blink of an eye, “I could´ve brought you here.”

 

Leo shrugged, “I didn't know I was coming, Pablo told me about it right after you left,” He looked around; most of the team was huddled around Joe, listening attentively, “Besides, I didn't want to distract you.”

 

Kun made an affronted noise, but, Leo noted with a pleased smile, he blushed, “You don't distract me.”

 

The Barcelona player raised an eyebrow, looking over at the team pointedly, “Don't I?”

 

“Well…” Kun smiled sheepishly, realizing he was the only one not involved in his teams' impromptu meeting, “Maybe you do.”

 

“You should go with them, Pep's gonna be here soon.”

 

The Man City player grimaced, “Will you still be here by the end of the match? I was thinking I could take you out for dinner,” Leo blinked, was Kun _asking him out_? “If you want,” Kun hurried to add, “Or we can just go back home, watch a movie, play FIFA, maybe, or–”

 

“Kun,” Leo interrupted, his smile widening, “I'd like to go get dinner with you.”

 

His friend's mouth snapped shut, and the smile Kun gave him made Leo's knees go weak.

 

“One thing before you go, though,” He waited for the other to agree before continuing, playfully batting his lashes at his friend, “Will you score for me?” He said, repeating Kun's earlier words.

 

Kun was confused for a second, and Leo could see the moment he understood, his eyes widened, and his cheeks flushed. Leo laughed, leaning in to kiss his friend in the cheek, “Good luck.”

 

He turned around before Kun could react, and walked towards Pablo, who was waiting for him near the entrance, a smile on his face.

 

“I didn't hear anything,” The older man began, “But judging from the look on both your faces, it went well?”

 

“Zaba,” Leo began, his face beginning to hurt from smiling so much, “I did it!”

 

His friend's eyes widened, “You told him?!”

 

“What? No! I did it! I followed the method! The 'ass method'! Geri was right, it worked.”

 

“Leo…” Zaba gently moved him to the side, almost out of the locker room, “I have a lot of questions about what you just said, and I’m almost afraid to ask, but what the hell is the 'ass method'? Is that slang for se–”

 

“No!” He interrupted before the other could finish his sentence, horrified, “It's something Geri told me about, we were talking the other night, and he told me about this method to get someone to like you, he called it the 'ass method'; attentive, sweet and spontaneous. I tried to do all that and it worked! We're getting dinner together.”

 

“That's great! I'm going to ignore the fact that you immediately followed Piqué's advice and not mine, but that’s great, Leo!”

 

“What’s great?” A voice interrupted, and once more, both Leo and Pablo jumped in surprise, turning at the sound of Pep's voice.

 

“I finally managed to get Leo to do something about his feelings for Sergio.” Pablo, the traitor, explained.

 

Pep arched a brow in surprise, “Well that _is_ great, Leo. I was beginning to think I would have to intervene more.”

 

Leo flushed, it was embarrassing to have so many people get involved, but he was grateful for their help, “Thank you, Pep, I really appreciate it, I owe you.”

 

“Don't worry about it,” The coach smiled, and then seemed to realize something, “Actually, would you mind doing me a favor? It's nothing big, I just want you to talk to Leroy,” He paused, leaning closer, making both Argentines lean closer as well, “I assume Sergio's going to be having a great second half after you talked to him, and since Leroy has a bit of a case of hero-worship…”

 

“Of course he does,” Pablo laughed, earning an eye roll from Leo.

 

“I'll talk to him,” He promised, ignoring his friend's teasing, “Thanks, Pep.”

 

The coach nodded, leaving once more, probably to his office, Leo thought.

 

“Don't take too long,” Pablo advised, teasing smile still on his face, “We don't want Kun to get jealous.”

 

Leo rolled his eyes again, and walked back into the locker room, pretending like he couldn't hear the other's laughter.

 

He found that the team was no longer huddled together, but it was clear their impromptu meeting had worked; they looked like a team once more, and the Barcelona player sighed in relief.

 

He scanned the room, and found his friend quickly; Leroy was leaning next to his locker, a frown on his face, when he saw Leo moving closer, however, he smiled at him, immediately straightening, “Hey, Leo, are you feeling better?”

 

“Much better, thanks, kid,” He sat down in the bench next to the locker, patting the space next to him, “How are you?”

 

Leroy blinked, sitting down almost cautiously, “I'm good, could be playing better, but I'm not doing too badly, I think.”

 

The Argentine smiled at the honesty, “You're playing really well, Leroy, really.”

 

The German narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion, angry all of a sudden, “Did Pep ask you to tell me this?”

 

Leo narrowed his eyes as well, “Why would he do that?”

 

Leroy slumped down, anger disappearing as quickly as it had appeared, “Sorry, he's just been telling me that a lot, and I appreciate it, but I would feel better about it if I could _just score._ ”

 

“Leroy,” Leo nudged him with his elbow softly, making sure the other player was paying attention, “It'll happen, don't worry too much about it, we all go through that as players, just keep playing and it'll come to you.”

 

The Manchester City player stared at him wide eyed, and Leo was glad Zaba wasn't there to see that, because Leroy was definitely starstruck.  Before Leo could say something, the younger man threw his arms around the Argentine in a hug, Leo shifted a little in surprise, returning the embrace after some hesitation.

 

“Are you okay?” He asked awkwardly when Leroy didn’t move after a while. Some of the players were beginning to stare at them, and Leo returned their curious gazes with a forced smile, wanting to be anywhere but there, “Leroy?”

 

“Yeah, I’m okay, sorry,” The young forward quickly released him, clearing his throat and not meeting Leo’s eyes, “Thank you, Leo, it—it means a lot, coming from you, thank you.”

 

Leo frowned in concern, trying to catch the other’s eyes; the younger man was blushing, and he wiped his eyes quickly, Leo blushed too, realizing Leroy was wiping away tears.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay? We can go to a more private place, if you want.”

 

“No, it’s alright, I’m okay,” Leroy cleaned his face with his shirt, only now noticing his teammates staring, “Jeez, this is embarrassing, I was _not_ expecting to hear something like that from you.”

 

Leo’s lips quirked up in a smile, “I’ll let you get ready for the second half, I don’t want your teammates to think I’m distracting you.”

 

Leroy nodded, still embarrassed from his reaction, and Leo patted his head before heading towards the exit, passing a smirking Pablo.

 

“I won’t say anything,” Pablo promised when he caught up with Leo, “But that was both weird and adorable.”

 

“Let’s go watch the second half,” The younger man said, avoiding his friend’s eyes.

 

Pablo sighed, “I’m only agreeing with you because you followed my advice and actually talked about feelings with someone, not because I want to,” He gestured to the hallway, in the general direction of their seats, “Let’s go watch the second half, _and_ _then_ ,” His grin sharpened and the Barcelona player narrowed his eyes, “We’ll get you ready for dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, the Champions League is here! Barcelona is, as expected, doing great, and Manchester is... not really doing as expected, but I'm confident they'll recover tbh, what do you guys think?  
> (Also, I really really hope PSV advances from the group stage bc there's Chucky and Guti and i love them both, hopefully both Barcelona and PSV can make it).
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll try my best to update the next one soon, and shout-out to rainedparade for all the help, you're the best :D
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos, they help a lot :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took so long, jfc I’m sorry, I had exams, and uni kept me super busy.  
> Like I’ve been saying, the chapters may take a while, but I won’t abandon the story :)
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter, and tell me your thoughts! It brightens my day to read all the comments or see kudos <3
> 
> Thank you to rainedparade for all the help and for generally being awesome, ily <3

A hat-trick.

 

Kun had actually scored a _hat-trick._

 

The match had ended with a resounding 4-1, with Kun scoring a hat-trick and Leroy scoring at the last minute, prompting the crowd to cheer for most of the second half.

 

Leo's cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and Zaba had spent the entire second half teasing him and nudging him with his elbow whenever Kun so much as touched the ball, but Leo still couldn't stop smiling.  He could barely contain himself from abandoning Zaba and just sprinting to the locker room and to Kun.

 

The two of them managed to sneak into the locker room, once again, joining Pep, who stood near the door, fondly staring at his team.

 

“That was a good game,” Pablo said as greeting, “Congratulations.”

 

Pep answered, but Leo didn't get the chance to hear him because, just then, Leroy spotted him, and ran towards him, slipping at the last second and barreling into Leo, knocking them both to the ground.

 

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry, but thank you!” Leroy hugged him, and this time Leo didn't hesitate to hug him back, laughing at his friend's excitement.

 

Pablo helped them up with a laugh, and even Pep was smiling, “You only listen to Leo then, huh?” The manager asked jokingly, placing a hand on Leroy´s shoulder.

 

Leo expected his friend to blush, or apologize, what he didn't expect, however, was for Leroy to smile cockily, and drape and arm over Leo's shoulders, “If the best player in the world tells you to do something, you do it, coach.”

 

They all laughed at Leroy´s words, attracting the team's attention, and Leo was surprised to find that he wasn't as uncomfortable with the attention as he'd been the days before.

 

Raheem walked up to them with a smirk, making Leroy narrow his eyes at him.

 

“We're going to celebrate, right? We _have to_ , guys! A hat-trick! And Leroy scored!”  
  
“Alright fine,” Pep relented with a smile, **“** You can celebrate.  But I want you bright and early in two days, understood?”

  
The team cheered, and Raheem walked closer to Leo and Leroy, smirk still firmly in place, “You're both coming, right?” The question was aimed at Leroy, who shrugged, turning to Leo.  
  
“Do you want to…?”

  
  
“He can't,” Pablo interrupted, speaking for Leo, “He has something to do, sorry,” Despite the words, Pablo didn't look sorry at all.

 

Leroy's expression fell, “Oh, well then, I guess I'll see you in two days?”

 

Leo felt a pang, he tightened his arm around the German, “We can play FIFA tomorrow, if you want?”

 

Leroy beamed at him, “Yes! That's– I would– Yes.”

 

Raheem huffed incredulously, but he was smiling, “Let's go now,” He grabbed Leroy´s arm at the same time that Leo let go of him, “Before you embarrass yourself any further.”

 

The Barcelona player watched with amusement as Leroy was dragged away, ignoring the badly-hidden laughter behind him.

 

“I honestly don't understand how Kun's not jealous of Leroy,” Pablo said, teasing, “The kid basically makes heart-eyes at you whenever you so much as breathe.”

 

Pep smiled, and excused himself from the conversation, leaving the two Argentinians alone.

 

Leo frowned, “Why would he be jealous?”

 

Pablo opened his mouth, but didn't say anything, frowning at something behind Leo, the Argentine turned in that direction, curious as to what had caused that reaction from his friend.

 

It was Nicolás, heading their way with a set jaw.

 

Leo smiled at his fellow Argentinian, going as far as opening his arms for a hug. Nicolás’ expression softened, and by the time he reached them, he looked almost friendly, but he didn’t hug Leo.

 

“Zaba,” He nodded at the older man, “I need to talk to you,” He said, this time to Leo.

 

The latter opened his mouth in surprise, not really sure how to answer, but Pablo beat him to it, “You can talk to both of us, Nicolás.”

 

He didn’t sound angry, but he definitely wasn’t happy with Nicolás, who flinched a little. Leo immediately felt bad for him; it was clear that something was bothering him, Leo’d known since that time at Kun’s house, he’d thought it had nothing to do with him, but apparently he’d been wrong.

 

Pablo was being overprotective, like he tended to be, but Leo was more than willing to fix things with Nicolás, he had always considered him a good friend.

 

“I’ll talk to him,” Leo said, placing a placating hand on Pablo’s arm.

 

Pablo frowned, but nodded, walking deeper into the room without saying a word.

 

Nicolás sighed, like he expected that reaction, and led Leo out of the room and into the hallway.

 

“What’s going on, Ota?” Leo couldn’t refrain from asking once they were alone.

 

His friend sighed again, “You’re going with Sergio, right?”

 

Leo nodded, a little lost.

 

“Are you two…? Is it…?” He paused, frustrated, and squared his shoulders, “Are you interested in him… in a romantic way?” It was the first time since Leo was in Manchester that he recognized his friend, the other man no longer cold and distant., but more like his teammate, the one that would steal all the popcorn when they had a movie night, or would always complain about how boring Leo's taste in music could be, despite the fact that they basically liked the same music.

 

The question still took him off guard, though, making the Barcelona player flush, “Why do you ask?”

 

“Because,” Nicolás said, shaking Leo a little, “Maybe you just started to notice how he behaves around you; the way he looks at you, the things he says or does. But Leo,” He made sure to look directly into the other’s eyes, and had Leo not been so worried about what his friend was saying, he would have wondered at how different the other man was behaving, “I noticed that _years ago_ , it’s not a 'new thing', he’s been like this for _years.”_

 

Leo jerked back, eyes wide,” _Years?!”_ He squeaked, immediately flushing even more. He cleared his throat, “Years?” He repeated, voice more or less normal.

 

Nicolás stared at him, calculating, and he seemed to realize something, his expression shifted, and he relaxed, even smiling a little, “I’ve never heard you make that sound before,” He mused, teasing.

 

Leo ignored the teasing, he covered his face in horror, “It’s been _years?_ Why—why didn’t he say something? Or you!” He accused, feeling betrayed, “Why didn’t _you_ say something?”

 

“It wasn’t my secret to tell,” Nicolás shrugged, “And honestly? I thought you knew.”

 

Leo frowned, “You thought I knew? And I was, what, ignoring it?

 

For the first time in the conversation, it was Nicolás who averted his eyes.

 

That was answer enough.

 

He froze, “You really think I'm like that? That I would do that? Ignore his feelings?”

 

The centre back looked at him, eyes wide, “I didn’t want to believe that, Leo, but he’s not exactly subtle, you know? I mean, just this week half the team,” He pointed at the locker room, “Has been asking me if you two were together.”

 

Leo leaned into the wall for support, feeling like he was underwater, “What did you say?” His voice sounded faint, even to his own ears.

 

“I told them to ask you themselves,” Nicolás frowned, “Are you okay? You look pale, more than normal.”

 

“I—Yes, I’m okay. Do you—Does he think the same thing? Does Kun think I’ve known all this time?” His head was spinning, he wanted to throw up, “Is that why you were angry? Why you told him to stay away from me?”

 

He didn’t realize he was shaking until Nicolás tentatively touched his shoulder, “Leo, are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’re about to faint.”

 

Leo was too lost in his own mind to answer, now that he thought back, a lot of things made sense. Even their fight, two days ago, when Leo had told Kun about Cesc and Geri, about the kiss, the way Kun had reacted had left him confused, but now…

 

“What if he hates me? What if he’s angry, Ota?”

 

Nicolás looked around at the thankfully empty hallway, before taking Leo’s hand in his and dragging him towards a closed door, he opened it quickly, revealing a janitor's closet, and pushed Leo in, closing the door once they were both inside.

 

“Okay, there is absolutely _no way_ he hates you, and he’s not angry, at all, okay?” He turned to face him.

 

It was like Leo couldn’t hear him, “God, he probably does hate me, and I deserve it, too, I’ve been such an idiot. Years! I didn’t notice anything, _for years!”_

 

Nicolás bit his lip, “Do you want me to call Pablo? He probably knows what to do, right?”

 

“Is it even a good idea to go with him? He probably doesn’t feel like that anymore, maybe he’s just being nice, trying to let me down gently, maybe—“

 

There was a sharp sound, and Leo raised a hand to his stinging cheek, blinking slowly.

 

“Did you just… slap me?”

 

Nicolás blinked too, staring at his hand in surprise, “I don’t know why I did that.”

 

Leo considered this **.**  “Thanks, I needed that.”

 

The Manchester City player gingerly touched his cheek, “At least you don’t look like you’re about to pass out anymore.”

 

“Thanks,” Leo said again, “Are we okay now?”

 

The other frowned, “You just had a minor meltdown, and I slapped you, and you’re asking if we’re okay?”

 

The blaugrana shrugged, “I understand why you were angry, and I promise I’m serious about him, so we should be okay, right?”

 

Nicolás thought about it for a second, and nodded, “Yeah, okay. We’re good, I’m sorry about the slap, though, and… for thinking that you knew, I should’ve known you weren’t like that.”

 

Leo smiled, “It’s okay, I forgive you. Now,” He reached for the door handle, “I need Zaba's help to get ready for dinner.” He twisted the door handle.

 

Nothing happened.

 

He tried again, getting the same result.

 

The Argentines shared a look, and, in surprising synchrony, both threw themselves at the door, banging on it and yelling, “Zaba! Zaba!”

 

“Zaba, help! Zaba!” Nicolás hollered, pounding on the door.

 

There was a skidding sound on the hallway, and then Zaba’s voice was heard;

 

“What’s going on?!”

 

Nicolás stopped his hollering, resting his palm against the door, “We’re stuck.”

 

“I thought you guys were dying or something,” Pablo huffed, “I’ll go get someone, hold on.”

 

They stayed silent until they couldn’t hear Pablo’s footsteps, it was Leo who broke the silence, not able to stay quiet, “When you say years, how long do you mean? Like,” He waved his hands in a vague gesture, “How long ago are we talking about, two years, or ten years?”

 

The centre back grimaced, “I think it’s better if you ask him, Leo.”

 

Leo frowned, but didn’t complain, he understood the other’s argument. Instead, he changed the subject.

 

“That day at Kun’s house, were you guys talking about me?”

 

Nicolás sighed, used to his stubbornness, “I really thought you knew and were pretending like you didn’t, Leo. Yes, we were talking about you, he told me what happened, why you guys fought, he said he was convinced you didn’t know anything, but I was _so_ sure you knew, I suggested leaving you at the hotel, or with Zaba, maybe Kun would be better staying away from you for a bit, you know?”

 

“I guess, when you say it like that, it makes sense,” Leo hesitantly nodded, “I’m glad we talked, even if I did have a meltdown and you slapped me.”

 

“He what?!” It was Pablo again, and both Leo and Nicolás startled, apparently neither of them had heard him approach, “He slapped you?!”

 

“He helped me, Zaba, don’t worry.” The culé tried to reason.

 

“Leo, buddy, don’t say anything else, please,” Ota pleaded, “And Zaba, I swear it wasn’t like that, I was trying to help!”

 

The door opened, revealing Pablo on the other side, a frown firmly in place.

 

**“** So you guys talked?”

 

They nodded.

 

“Is everything okay now?”

 

Another nod.

 

Zaba shrugged, “Okay then.”

 

Nicolás blinked, “Okay? Aren’t you mad?”

 

“Why would I be mad? You guys fixed whatever problem you had,” Pablo smiled mischievously at Nicolás, “Besides, I can’t be mad at you for slapping him if you were helping him, I threw him into a pool when he had a fever to help him.”

 

“I feel oddly threatened,” Leo declared, “But I’m glad we’re all okay again.”

 

“By the way, Leo, I think Kun was looking for you, I told Joe to tell him I didn't know where you were, or to distract him, because saying you got stuck in a closet with Nicolás sounded weird.”

 

“Oh!” Leo turned frantically towards Pablo, “What do I say? Or do? Am I okay? Do you think he still wants me to go with him? Should I—“

 

“Woah, if I didn’t believe you before, I definitely do now,” Ota commented, “Leo, I’m sure you could show up in your grumpy dwarf pajamas and talk about physics for an hour and Kun would hang on to every word you say.”

 

Leo blushed, “I really shouldn’t have posted that picture.”

 

“That’s not important right now,” Zaba waved him off, “You got a haircut, you look good. Just don’t be nervous, be yourself, easy, no?”

 

Leo took a deep breath, silently encouraged himself and nodded, “Easy, yeah.”

 

“Do you want me to slap you again?” Nicolás asked concerned.

 

“No, thank you, I think I’m okay now,” He looked around, “I should go with Kun, though, he’s probably looking for me.”

 

Pablo nodded, giving him a thumbs up and Nicolás mirrored the gesture, both of them smirking smugly at him.

 

Leo rolled his eyes, walking away without saying a word, he was grateful for his friends' support, but he was also aware of the fact that for the foreseeable future they would tease him whenever they wanted.

 

He wondered if he could get Masche on his side, the older Argentine would _at least_ stop Ota, Pablo on the other hand…  Leo shook his head, he could worry about that later, right now he was going to go to dinner with Kun, and he was going to enjoy it.

 

He didn’t have to search for long, he had just entered the locker room when Kun spotted him from where he was talking with Joe Hart.

 

Kun finished his conversation quickly, much to the goalkeeper’s amusement, who waved at Leo before walking away. The blaugrana waved back, feeling all his worries melt away at the sight of Kun’s smile.

 

“I was looking for you, and Joe said something about Ota and a closet? Is everything okay?”

 

“Oh, yes,” Leo nodded, unconsciously rubbing his cheek, “We talked, I accidentally locked us in a closet, and Zaba got us out.”

 

“Yeah, I saw Zaba run out of the room, I was about to follow, but Joe wanted to talk to me,” Kun frowned, “You know there's a red handprint on your cheek, right?”

 

Leo’s eyes widened in surprise, “There is?”

 

“Right here,” The Man City striker reached out a hand to touch his cheek, “What happened?”

 

“Oh, uh,” The shorter man bit his lip, “I fell?” Leo winced at the poor lie, and Kun narrowed his eyes, stepping closer to him to inspect his cheek,

 

“Leo, why is there a handprint on your cheek?”

 

It was clear he wasn't going to let it go, so Leo sighed, “Ota slapped me.”

 

Kun froze, still cupping his cheek, and then violently turned around, heading for the hallway. The Barcelona player blinked, before realizing what he had just said, he quickly grabbed Kun’s arm, stopping him, “Wait, not like that, Kun, he was helping me—”

 

“Leo, he slapped you!” His friend almost shouted back at him, disbelief coloring his voice.

 

“He didn't mean it! He apologized!”

 

“I don’t care! An apology doesn’t make it okay, Leo! It was wrong and—“

 

Leo acted quickly, placing a hand on the back of Kun’s head, bringing their foreheads together, “Kun, I swear it’s okay, I talked to him, he didn’t mean it, even Zaba talked to him.”

 

The other took a slow, deep breath, his eyes fluttering shut for a second. “I don’t like seeing you hurt, Leo.”

 

“I’m not,” Leo replied, closing his eyes too, “I'm okay, I promise.”

 

He opened his eyes, only to find Kun staring at him fondly.

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing, you just… you always know what to say.”

 

Leo snorted, “Yeah, right.”

 

Kun laughed, “Let’s go,” He moved away from Leo, “We have a date to get to.” He offered him a hand.

 

“So it _is_ a date?” Leo asked, even as he took the offered hand.

 

Kun’s sunny smile was answer enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kinda ugh??? I wanted to have the actual date™, but it didn’t feel right yet and I still needed to have Ota and Leo talk and fix their problem, sorry if you were expecting something else, but next chapter is coming :)

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you guys think? 
> 
> Should I continue writing this story?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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